Roei Golan, a medical student at Florida State University College of Medicine in Tallahassee, Florida, presented the findings of a study on improved healthcare utilization among men with depression undergoing inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) at the 24th Annual Fall Scientific Meeting of Sexual Medicine Society of North America in San Diego, California. The study utilized a unique, private database called the IBM MarketScan database, which is expensive to access. Access to the database was facilitated by Boston Scientific, allowing the researchers to analyze data from it.

The study’s goal was to investigate whether penile implants could benefit men and reduce healthcare costs. For instance, the researchers wanted to determine if getting an implant at the age of 65 would lead to fewer emergency room visits, less depression medication usage, fewer diabetes medications, and weight loss among men. The researchers aimed to demonstrate that while penile implants are costly, they can also provide significant benefits for men.

According to Golan, the early findings showed that males with IPPs used less depression medication, had fewer emergency room visits, and required fewer clinic visits for psychiatry-related conditions. These findings were seen as significant in demonstrating the potential benefits of penile implants for men.