For many medical conditions, the treatments available can be rather expensive. In some cases, there is a death of useful and objective tests for the conditions. In such cases, it can be quite hard to convince insurance companies to pay for the treatments based solely on the subjective views of the patients. Unfortunately, that is the exact case of erectile dysfunction. The standard tests available for this medical condition do not help in diagnosis which causes issues with the reimbursement of the treatment expenses.
The Problem with Assessing ED
The fact is that there are now other aspects and dimensions of the evaluation of erectile dysfunction. Pharmacostimualted testing is no longer being performed. Instead, the approach has become more complex.
It is important for doctors to determine whether the patients are actually suffering from erectile dysfunction. Otherwise, treatment reimbursement becomes more difficult. After all, there are men who simply want to increase their sexual performance but claim to suffer from ED. In order to differentiate between the two, doctors need instruments that are minimally invasive and reliable. At the same time, the instruments should be capable of making the discrimination.
The Study
A study was done with 77 patients who were looking for ED treatments. They underwent an assessment program. Some of the things that were assessed were given below.
- Patients reported data on their sexual erections;
- Standard laboratory tests;
- Sonography;
- Intracavernous injections;
- Other diagnostic tests
Comparisons of the data were made on the basis of the possibility of vaginal penetration.
- Penetration possible;
- Penetration feasible but with manual assistance;
- Penetration possible but of duration wasn’t enough for satisfaction
Out of all the patients studied, it was determined that 36 were incapable of vaginal penetration. 28 of them required manual assistance. 13 patients achieved penetrations but they were not satisfied with their performance.
On the other hand, the response to diagnostic tests was unable to determine between these groups. This was the case in spite of the fact that the symptoms that the patients had reported varied widely.
The study shows that pharmacostimulation tests are unable to prove ED or even determine its degree. As such, better instruments are required to make the evaluation of these patients. Without them, patients may have to suffer from strict limitations on the amount they are reimbursed with for their treatment.
Treatment Options Available For Erectile Dysfunction
There are quite a few treatment options available these days for patients suffering from ED. However, it might not be possible for patients to avail of some of the treatments unless they are reimbursed.
- Oral medications;
- Injections;
- Vacuum Pumps;
- Penile Implants
The choice of treatment does depend on a number of factors. Nonetheless, a doctor must be consulted prior to using any of them such as oral medications from Canadian Health&Care Mall.
Oral Medications
There are various kinds of oral medications available for treating erectile dysfunction. Some of them are Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis. They can be easily bought from Canadian Health&Care Mall but you must consult a doctor beforehand. Otherwise, you may inadvertently end up suffering from other medical conditions which will certainly be a major problem for your health and finance. Nonetheless, they are an effective form of treatment. In fact, they have been noted to be effective in around 70% of erectile dysfunction cases.
Injections
Injections are another method of delivering medications into the body in order to treat ED. They can be useful in achieving erections almost instantly. However, they carry a number of side effects such as priapism. That is why many precautions must be taken before using this method.
Vacuum Pumps
These devices are meant to be operated manually and they are used before participating in erectile dysfunction. While difficult to use at first, they can be very effective. In fact, patients have reported a high rate of success with their vacuum pumps.
Penile Implants
Being a surgical method, penile implants are more expensive than some of the other methods like oral medications. Nonetheless, their rate of effectiveness is extremely high. Moreover, they are permanent in nature. Therefore, men will have no issues in achieving erections with the right implants even though they will never be able to achieve erections naturally again.