Executives Highlight Urology Industry Trends to Watch in 2023

In its recently released urology industry report, BGL Healthcare & Life Sciences Insider: Consolidation to Accelerate in Urology, the firm’s Healthcare Provider Services investment banking team spoke with two industry executives to help identify trends that will shape the industry over the next decade and beyond:

• Michael J. Shannon, Chief Executive Officer at First Urology – Mike has been in primary and specialty healthcare management for over 20 years and joined Metropolitan Urology in 2001. As Chief Executive Officer of Metro, he was an integral part of the 2011 merger with Allied Urology. Mike has guided First Urology to become the largest privately owned medical practice in the state of Kentucky.

• Marshal Salomon, Chief Executive Officer at Unio Health Partners – Marshal serves as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Managers of Unio Health Partners. He brings over 25 years of executive leadership experience in multi-site, community-based healthcare organizations to these roles.

There were many insightful takeaways from these interviews. Shannon pointed out “The average age of urologists is going up, not down. Twice as many urologists retire than come out of training each year. So that combination of more patients and fewer urologists is really putting a strain on the system, and it’s not improving.”

New urologists also may have a different mentality than what we have seen in the past. According to Shannon, “The new generation of urologists is focused on different priorities. I think for the most part, very few are entrepreneurial. It’s the reason there are so many in every field that are gravitating to either academics or to hospital employment models because they just want to practice medicine. They just want to go to work, practice medicine, and go home. They don’t know anything about business. They maybe don’t have a real interest in it.”

In the interview with Salomon, he touched on trends that are poised to grow in urology offices going forward. He said, “I think we’ve been able to prove unequivocally over the last several years that an APP (advanced practice provider) in a well-structured group or office can provide tremendous leverage.”

Additionally, he highlighted areas for potential improvements in office environments. He said, “Many practices, even the sophisticated ones, have weak scheduling so there end up being gaps in the schedule. Having a call list of individuals who can come in on short notice if gaps develop in the schedule. Increased use of telehealth, which continues to be well received by physicians and patients and is very cost- effective.”

How will these and other industry trends shape the urology M&A landscape going forward? Download the full Insider to read the complete interviews with these leaders to get greater insight into these topics and more urology trends shaping the industry.

BGL’s Healthcare Provider Services team has the investment banking and capital markets experience to advise clients across a broad spectrum of physician practice M&A, capital markets activities and strategic assignments. To learn more about how we can help with strategies for valuing a physician practice, selling a physician practice, or buying a physician practice, as well as other strategies to position you for growth, please reach out via our contact form below.