Healthcare Insights
Top 10 most common urology diagnoses
Urology is the field of healthcare that is specifically focused on diseases of the male and female urinary tract. This includes diseases affecting the urethra, ureters, kidneys, and bladder. Furthermore, urology also focuses on the male organs responsible for reproduction, including the testes, penis, prostate, and scrotum.
Using data from the Definitive Healthcare Atlas All-Payor Claims product, we identified the most common diagnoses made by urologists using claims from calendar year 2022.
Top 10 most common urology diagnoses
| Rank | Diagnosis code | Diagnosis description | % of diagnoses by urologists in U.S. | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | N401 | Benign prostatic hyperplasia with lower urinary tract symptoms | 11.80% | Explore |
| 2 | C61 | Malignant neoplasm of prostate | 9.50% | Explore |
| 3 | N200 | Calculus of kidney | 7.20% | Explore |
| 4 | R9720 | Elevated prostate specific antigen [PSA] | 6.80% | Explore |
| 5 | N390 | Urinary tract infection, site not specified | 3.30% | Explore |
| 6 | N201 | Calculus of ureter | 2.70% | Explore |
| 7 | E291 | Testicular hypofunction | 2.50% | Explore |
| 8 | R310 | Gross hematuria | 2.50% | Explore |
| 9 | R339 | Retention of urine, unspecified | 2.30% | Explore |
| 10 | N400 | Benign prostatic hyperplasia without lower urinary tract symptoms | 2.00% | Explore |
Fig. 1. Data from the Definitive Healthcare’s Atlas All-Payor Claims product for the calendar year 2022. Claims data is sourced from multiple medical claims clearinghouses in the United States and updated monthly. Accessed June 2023.
What are the most common urology diagnoses?
The most common diagnosis made by urologists is “Benign prostatic hyperplasia with lower urinary tract symptoms.” This condition (also known as BPH) usually occurs with age and happens when a male patient’s prostate becomes enlarged. An enlarged prostate can cause a variety of symptoms including frequent or painful urination. While annoying, this condition is common among older men and accounts for 11.8% of all urology diagnoses.
The second most common urology diagnosis is “Malignant neoplasm of prostate,” which accounts for 9.5% of all urology diagnoses. This diagnosis is another term for having cancer in the prostate and it is the second most common type of cancer among men. One out of every eight men receive a prostate cancer diagnosis at some point in their lifetime. However, once identified, prostate cancer can be highly treatable with either surgery or radiation therapy.
The third most common urology diagnosis is “Calculus of kidney”, which accounts for 7.2% of all urology diagnoses. This diagnosis is another way of saying that a patient has kidney stones, which are hard deposits made of minerals and salts from inside your kidney. While passing kidney stones can be very painful, they usually don’t cause permanent damage to the body. Kidney stones are very common as 11% of men and 6% of women will have a kidney stone at least once, which explains their high position on this list.
Why is urology important to healthcare?
Urology is important to healthcare because every single human needs a working urinary tract in order to survive.
Physicians who specialize in urology are called urologists. Urologists can diagnosis and treat a range of conditions including sexual dysfunction, urinary tract infections, and urinary incontinence. Treatments for these conditions improve the patient’s quality of life and health, thus creating the need for urology every single day.
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