LAUSR

Objective To investigate the changes in elective private urological procedures in Australia during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Methods Data was extracted from publicly available datasets from Medicare Benefits Schedule(MBS) using item numbers assigned to each commonly performed urological intervention. These procedures were divided into three groups: Oncological therapeutic, diagnostic and non-oncological therapeutic procedures. A smoothing model, based on the historic procedure numbers from 2017 to 2019, was used to forecast monthly number of procedures performed in each category between January and June 2020. These forecasted models were compared with reported figures. Results A total of 108 169 procedures performed between January and June 2020 based on the MBS item numbers listed. There was a significant reduction (percentage change) in total procedures performed in April (−22.6%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −15.4% to −28.7%) and May 2020 (−33.2%, 95% CI: −28.3% to −37.5%). There was a significant reduction in oncological therapeutic, non-oncological therapeutic and diagnostic procedures performed in April and May 2020 (P < 0.05). These numbers do not include procedures performed in public sector. Conclusions There was a significant reduction in total urological procedures (including diagnostic, oncological and non-oncological) performed in months of April and May 2020 during time of federal restrictions. Both public and private healthcare sectors need to be supported in the upcoming months to prevent further delays in treatment and poorer clinical outcomes.