title: The economics of benign prostatic hyperplasia and lower urinary tract symptoms in the United States.
abstract: Throughout the past several decades, interest in health care economics has increased as health care spending has soared--currently in excess of 1.5 trillion dollars and comprising approximately 16% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and its associated clinical manifestation of lower urinary tract symptoms is one of the most common medical conditions of aging men. BPH has been, and continues to be, a major factor in health care expenditures in the United States, costing up to 4 billion dollars each year. During the past 15 years, considerable changes in the patterns of care for BPH patients have evolved, resulting in similarly profound economic alterations. In this article, we examine contemporary trends in practice patterns for BPH and their associated impact on the cost of care for this condition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Taubman Health Care Center, University of Michigan Health System, 1500 East Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0330, USA.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Taub
authors.forename: John T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017281:Cost of Illness; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000191:economics; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000191:economics*; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000191:economics; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics* / Q000601:surgery; D014481:United States; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000191:economics / Q000209:etiology