BALTIMORE, April 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Urological Association (AUA) is pleased to release the 2024 Annual Census report, which offers a detailed overview of practicing urologists in the United States and, therefore, helps ensure the continued delivery of high-quality urologic care worldwide. Key findings from the 2024 report highlight the decreasing urologist-to-population ratio, with 62% of U.S. counties not having any practicing urologists.

The AUA Annual Census offers vital insights into the urological workforce and practice patterns. Now in its 11th year, this two-part survey supports informed decision-making, policy development and research through data collection on workforce trends and evolving priorities. Core questions track demographics, training and practice patterns, while annual additions reflect key focus areas. In 2024, topics include business operations, restrictive covenants, specific urological conditions, telehealth, compensation, private equity, use of artificial intelligence and retirement.

Additional findings from the 2024 AUA Census include:

• 90% of practicing urologists who treat bladder cancer with oncology as their subspecialty reported adapting their practice in response to Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) shortages.
• There were noticeable gender differences by age group, with nearly 22% of practicing urologists less than 45 years old being female compared to only 1% of practicing urologists 65 years and older being female.
• The top challenges faced in delivering telehealth care were patient technical difficulties (64%), reduced reimbursement compared to in-person visits (33%), time constraints (28%), lack of patient broadband access (22%) and lack of reimbursement (19%). Only 5% reported they do not face any challenges in providing telehealth care.
• Over 60% of practicing urologists reported that they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the level of compensation or reimbursement they receive for responding to patient questions through an electronic health record.
• The most common artificial intelligence (AI) use cases among practicing urologists were the creation of discharge instructions or progress notes (14%), documentation of billing codes, medical charts or visit notes (12%), generation of chart summaries (8%), translation services (8%), automation of insurance preauthorization (7%), summaries of medical research standards of care (7%) and generation of draft responses (7%).
• While 55% of male urologists plan to work beyond age 65, only 24% of female urologists plan to do the same.

“The AUA Annual Census is essential to shaping the future of urology—it provides the data we need to understand who we are as a specialty, how we practice and where disparities and opportunities exist,” said Amanda North, MD, chair of the AUA Data Committee. “By participating, urology professionals directly contribute to research, policy and improvements that elevate care for patients everywhere.”

The 2024 report provides further data trends regarding telehealth visits, AI, practice barriers and other characteristics. The full report can be found on the AUA website at http://www.AUAnet.org/CensusReport

This report is just one of the many ways in which Census data is summarized and disseminated to inform health policy and research. Participation is critical for ensuring high-quality and representative data is collected. The 2025 Census will open on April 24^th and remain open through September 30, 2025, and all AUA Members are encouraged to complete the survey at AUAnet.org/TakeCensus.

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 nearly 26,000 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.

Corey Del Bianco
American Urological Association
443-689-4033
cdelbianco@auanet.org