"Doctor, would you prescribe a pill to help me … ?" a national survey of physicians on using medicine for human enhancement.

Using medical advances to enhance human athletic, aesthetic, and cognitive performance, rather than to treat disease, has been controversial. Little is known about physicians' experiences, views, and attitudes in this regard. We surveyed a national sample of physicians to determine how often they prescribe enhancements, their views on using medicine for enhancement, and whether they would be willing to prescribe a series of potential interventions that might be considered enhancements.

The influence of body mass index on the cost of radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer.

Objective: to evaluate the impact of obesity on the costs of robotic-assisted (RALP), laparoscopic (LRP) and open retropubic radical prostatectomy (RRP).

Patients And Methods: the charts of 629 patients who underwent RP (262 RALP, 211 LRP and 156 RRP) between September 2003 and April 2008 at our institution were reviewed. Clinical and pathological data were collected, including age, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, body mass index (BMI), tumour stage, complications and length of stay.

Cost comparison of robotic, laparoscopic, and open radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer.

Background: Demand and utilization of minimally invasive approaches to radical prostatectomy have increased in recent years, but comparative studies on cost are lacking.

Objective: To compare costs associated with robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP), laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP), and open retropubic radical prostatectomy (RRP).

Design, Setting, And Participants: The study included 643 consecutive patients who underwent radical prostatectomy (262 RALP, 220 LRP, and 161 RRP) between September 2003 and April 2008.

The effect of the approach to radical prostatectomy on the profitability of hospitals and surgeons.

Objective: To evaluate the profit margins for radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP), laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) and robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP), and the effect on the reimbursement to the urologist, as there has been a dramatic increase in use of RALP, with the cost of the robot borne by hospitals.

Methods: Data on costs and payments to hospital and surgeon from 2003 to 2008 for RRP, LRP and RALP were obtained from the hospital and urology department. We determined the profit based on the difference between payments received and total cost.