Baltimore, MD, March 9, 2017 ,-Today, the American Urological Association (AUA)shared online findings from the 2015 inaugural Practicing Urologists Across the Globe census report. Aimed at understanding, characterizing and comparing urologists around the globe, information from this study is designed to help bridge knowledge gaps, inform urology workforce planning and implementation and, ultimately, improve global urologic care for years to come.

Nearly 4,000 practicing urologists in 106 countries were compared at both the continent level and selected country level with regard to key issues affecting the urologic workforce. Data elements, including demographics, education and training, geographical location of practice, practice setting, sub-specialty areas, years of urologic practice, electronic health records use and the numbers of clinical hours worked and patient volume per week were reported. Variations in workforce characteristics and practice patterns across countries and continents were observed with new therapeutic possibilities, rising expectations of health care values and health care reform and improvement featured prominently among several critical challenges facing the health care workforce.

"As the global population grows and ages, the demand for urologic care has increased,", said Inderbir Gill, MD, MCh, AUA Chair of Global Initiatives. "To meet the global needs for urological care and address various challenges, one must understand the global urologic workforce, as well as, cross-national variations seen in this study. Future Census publications will expand on these initial findings and report universal trends that can help inform efforts to improve patient care."

Highlights from the AUA International Census:

• Practicing urologists in South Korea see a median of 120 patients per week compared to the 75 patients practicing urologists in the United States see per week.
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• Canadian urologists work approximately 60 hours per week, compared to 55 hours for U.S. urologists, 50 for urologists in the United Kingdom.
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• Practicing urologists are youngest in Mexico (median of 43 years) and oldest in the United Kingdom (median of 57 years).
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• Practicing urologists in Italy, Israel and the United Kingdom tend to have the most years of practice, (25, 25 and 22 respectively) compared to Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and Mexico who have the least (nine,11 and 11 years, respectively).
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• The majority (81 percent) of practicing urologists in Australia work in private practice compared to less than 3 percent in Italy.
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• The three most common subspecialty areas in urology across the world are oncology, endourology/stone disease and laparoscopic surgery.
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• Practicing urologists in Chile (23.8 percent) are more likely to also have a second professional role as educator, whereas practicing urologists in Canada are more like to be researchers (24.7 percent) and practice managers (7.8 percent) than in other countries.

These data and other key highlights from the inaugural 2015 Practicing Urologists Across the Globe census report are now available online at AUAnet.org.

About the American Urological Association

Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is a leading advocate for the specialty of urology, and has more than 21,000 members throughout the world. The AUA is a premier urologic association, providing invaluable support to the urologic community as it pursues its mission of fostering the highest standards of urologic care through education, research and the formulation of health policy.

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