Jeff Arnold, General Manager at PlatformQ Health, attended the latest meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) in San Francisco. Arnold, who joined the PQH team earlier this year, was a natural choice to represent our team at the AUA 2018 meeting as he focuses on leveraging our platform to deliver outcomes-driven education in Urology, Uro-oncology, Cardiology and other related specialties. Reflecting on his time at AUA 2018, Arnold was struck by several new developments happening across the industry.
One of the most interesting discussions Arnold witnessed while at the meeting was a crossfire debate on the new prostate cancer screening guidelines and the relative merits of biopsies and MRI. The session dove into a topic that has gained attention in recent months, after a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found MRIs – with or without biopsy – to be superior at the 95% confidence interval.
New surgical treatments for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) also stood out to Arnold, who noted that he was interested in learning more about nonpharmacological options for the condition. He remarked, “I appreciated learning about new options BPH patients have like Rezūm, which uses steam to treat symptoms.” Emergent research about BPH also stood out to Arnold. One recipient of the AUA’s rising star award at this year’s meeting was Lysanne Campeau, MDCM, PhD, FRCSC, whose research showed a link between overactive bladder and metabolic syndrome.
Medical applications of crowdsourcing were also included in both panels and poster presentations, which explained how this new process that clinicians can employ is supporting better patient outcomes. “Hearing how doctors are curbsiding together to diagnose and decide on optimal treatment paths was one of the points that stood out to me the most,” said Arnold. “It makes sense that being able to collaborate with each other and combine their knowledge would be helpful for healthcare professionals, and would yield better results for their patients.”
Want to learn more about our work in Urology and Cardiology? Email us!