Your primary care doctor just handed you a referral slip for a urologist. Suddenly, you’re faced with the task of looking at dozens of urologists’ names around Los Angeles with no clear way to tell them apart. That’s a confusing position to be in.
Every urology practice and medical group looks credible online. Many have strong reviews. But nobody tells you how to actually evaluate a urologist based on what matters clinically. These points are:
- Credentials
- Subspecialty training
- Hospital affiliation
- Diagnostic capability
This guide gives you a practical, condition-specific framework for doing exactly that. By the end, you’ll know what to look for, which questions to ask, and what separates a good healthcare practice from a bad one and, most importantly, the right one for your needs.
Step-by-Step: How to choose a urologist in Los Angeles
Los Angeles isn’t a single medical system; it’s a network of hospital affiliations, insurance tiers, and subspecialty practices spread across almost 500 square miles.
A urologist listed online may be out-of-network at the hospital where they actually operate, or specialize in a completely different condition than yours, or follow a high-volume model that prioritizes speed over thorough evaluation.
Star ratings won’t tell you how many procedures a surgeon performs each year, whether they have fellowship training, or whether they offer more than one treatment path. The good news: once you know what to look for, the noise becomes much easier to filter through.
Here’s our step-by-step process that should help you choose the best urologist for you in Los Angeles
Step 1: What Type of Urologist Do You Need?
Before comparing doctors or clinics, start by understanding what type of urologist your condition requires. Urology is a subspecialized field. Choosing the right provider starts by matching your diagnosis to the appropriate expertise.
What are the main urology subspecialties?
- Urologic oncology: Cancers such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer
- Andrology: Male infertility, erectile dysfunction, testosterone issues
- Female pelvic medicine (FPMRS): Incontinence, prolapse, overactive bladder
- Endourology: Kidney stones and minimally invasive procedures
- Neurourology: Bladder and urinary conditions caused by nerve dysfunction, such as neurogenic bladder, incontinence, and urinary retention
- Pediatric urology: Urological conditions in children
All urologists are broadly trained, but fellowship-trained specialists have one to two additional years of focused expertise. For complex or high-stakes conditions, that extra depth of experience can directly impact patient outcomes.
Here is one scenario we regularly see: a patient spends months seeing a general urologist for recurrent kidney stones before learning that an endourologist, like Dr. Josephson, Dr. Bui, or Dr. Houman, could have resolved the case in a single procedure. Seeing the wrong type of specialist is one of the most common reasons for delayed diagnosis and proper treatment.
At Tower Urology, patients benefit from our multispecialty team, ensuring they are matched with the right expertise from the start.
What to look for when selecting a urology specialist: green flags and red flags
Here’s a practical framework for evaluating any urologist or urology clinic. Use the green flags as your checklist and treat the red flags as reasons to ask more questions before committing.
Is the Urologist board-certified and fellowship-trained?
GREEN FLAG: Board-certified with relevant fellowship training
Board certification from the American Board of Urology (ABU) confirms a physician has completed accredited training and passed rigorous written and oral examinations. Board certification is the baseline, not the differentiator.
For many conditions, especially cancer, infertility, or complex reconstruction, fellowship training matters a lot. A fellowship-trained urologist has spent a lot of time specializing in a specific area. California also requires all physicians to hold an active license through the California Medical Board, where you can check for any disciplinary history.
At Tower Urology, all of our physicians are board-certified, and most hold subspecialty fellowship training across key areas of urologic care.
RED FLAG: No clear credentials or subspecialty alignment
If you can’t easily verify board certification, fellowship training, or what the physician actually specializes in, that’s a problem. A mismatch between your condition and your doctor’s expertise can delay diagnosis, lead to unnecessary procedures, or limit your treatment options.
Does the urologist have a strong hospital affiliation? (such as Cedars-Sinai)
GREEN FLAG: Tower Urology’s Cedars-Sinai affiliation
Hospital affiliation determines where your procedures are performed and what resources are available to you. In Los Angeles, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is one of the most highly ranked, world-class hospitals in the country for urology and surgical care. It has been on the U.S. News Honor Roll for 10 years in a row.
For a medical professional, affiliation means the physician has met Cedars-Sinai’s credentialing standards and has access to its facilities.
For patients, that translates to access to advanced robotic surgical suites, integrated imaging and pathology, and multidisciplinary collaboration for complex cases.
Tower Urology physicians hold admitting privileges at Cedars-Sinai, giving our patients access to those resources without the long wait times typically associated with large academic centers.
RED FLAG: Limited access to advanced facilities
If a urologist can’t clearly explain where your procedure will be performed, what technology is available, or what happens if complications arise, you’re missing critical information before committing to care.
Multi-doctor group practice: What should I consider when selecting a urology clinic?
GREEN FLAG: Multi-physician group with subspecialty coverage
One of the most overlooked factors when choosing a urology clinic is whether you’re seeing a solo physician or a multi-doctor group. The difference matters more than most patients realize.
A group practice offers multiple subspecialists under one roof, built-in second opinions without leaving the practice, and continuity of care if your condition evolves or your primary physician is unavailable. At Tower Urology, cases can be reviewed collaboratively across specialties, ensuring you’re never limited to a single perspective.
RED FLAG: Solo model with limited scope
A solo provider may be excellent, but they’re still one person. If your condition changes or requires a different subspecialty, you may need to start over elsewhere, transfer records, and lose time in the process.
What diagnostic capabilities should a urology clinic have?
GREEN FLAG: Comprehensive in-office diagnostic capability
A high-quality urology practice should offer advanced in-office diagnostic capabilities. Clinics that refer out for basic testing add delays, introduce coordination gaps, and require extra appointments before your physician can make a treatment decision.
Look for practices that offer cystoscopy, urodynamic testing, ultrasound imaging, and on-site lab coordination. Tower Urology is equipped with all of these, allowing many conditions to be evaluated and diagnosed without unnecessary delays. This allows bladder cancer surveillance, for example, to happen at the same appointment as your follow-up.
RED FLAG:Â Limited testing or immediate treatment recommendations
Be cautious of practices that recommend treatment before thorough testing, refer out for basic diagnostics, or provide a diagnosis without explaining clearly how it was confirmed.
How important is communication when choosing a urologist?
GREEN FLAG: Physician who explains options and encourages questions
A strong urologist should explain your diagnosis in plain language, walk through all available treatment options, not just the one they recommend, and give you real time to ask questions before making any decisions.
We hear consistently from patients who come to Tower Urology after seeing another provider that they felt rushed, received a diagnosis and treatment recommendation in the same appointment, and left more confused than when they arrived. That’s a pattern worth taking seriously. At Tower Urology, every new patient is encouraged to bring a written list of questions to their first visit.
RED FLAG: Rushed consultations or one-option recommendations
If you feel pressured, if only one treatment path is presented, or if the physician seems impatient with your questions, that’s telling you something important about what ongoing care with that provider will look like.
Should you choose an academic medical center or a private urology practice?
Los Angeles and Southern California have well-known academic urology programs, including UCLA Health Urology, Keck Medicine of USC, and City of Hope. Many patients default to academic centers, assuming they’re the only option for complex or serious conditions. That assumption is worth questioning.
Tower Urology routinely treats patients with advanced, complex diagnoses, including cancers, reconstructive cases, and conditions that weren’t resolved elsewhere. Fellowship-trained urologic oncologists, robotic surgeons (skilled in robotic surgery) with thousands of procedures behind them, and Cedars-Sinai affiliation mean Tower operates at the same clinical level as any academic program.
And yet, there is one key difference: you’re seen by the same physician across every stage of your care, not passed between residents and departments.
Academic centers do offer access to certain clinical trials and tumor board infrastructure, and for some patients, those resources are the deciding factor. But they also typically mean longer wait times, less continuity, and a more fragmented experience.
For the majority of urological conditions, including complex ones, the more important question isn’t the institutional label. It’s whether the specific practice has the credentials, surgical volume, subspecialty depth, and facility access your condition requires. On each of those measures, Tower Urology stands alongside the best programs in Los Angeles.
Advanced technology and innovation at Tower Urology of Los Angeles
The technology a urology practice uses isn’t just a selling point; it directly affects how quickly you’re diagnosed, how precisely you’re treated, and how quickly you recover. Tower Urology has been integrating advanced technology into its practice for over five decades and continues to adopt innovations as they become available.
Robotic surgery and the da Vinci Single-Port system
Tower Urology’s surgeons perform robotic-assisted, urologic surgery using the da Vinci Single-Port (SP) system, one of the most advanced robotic platforms available. Unlike traditional robotic approaches that require multiple incisions, the da Vinci SP system operates through a single small incision using an extraperitoneal approach that avoids entering the main abdominal cavity entirely.
The result is less disruption to surrounding tissue, less post-operative pain, and faster recovery.
Tower Urology’s Dr. David Josephson is a nationally recognized leader in robotic surgery who has performed over 3,000 robotic procedures. Dr. Christopher Ng serves as Director of Laparoscopic Urologic Oncology and Robotic Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, specializing in minimally invasive surgical techniques for prostate, kidney, and bladder cancers. Dr. Premal Desai is the Clinical Chief of the Division of Urology at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. And Dr. Justin Houman is a board-certified and fellowship-trained specialist in male reproductive medicine and surgery, to name just a few of the Tower Urologists.
Nerve-sparing surgical techniques
For patients undergoing robotic prostatectomy, the nerve-sparing technique is one of the most consequential decisions a surgeon makes.
Tower Urology’s team has a particular focus on potency (to optimize your sexual health) and continence preservation (to maintain your quality of life).
Our surgeons use precise nerve-sparing approaches to minimize the risk of erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence after surgery. The practice reports that over 96% of patients regain urinary control and 85% restore potency following robotic prostatectomy.
MRI fusion-guided prostate biopsy
For patients with elevated PSA levels, Tower Urology offers MRI-guided targeted biopsy using the UroNav fusion biopsy system combined with DynaCAD for Prostate software.
This approach fuses MRI imaging with real-time ultrasound to precisely target suspicious areas of the prostate — significantly improving biopsy accuracy compared to traditional random sampling. The result is fewer unnecessary biopsies, fewer missed cancers, and a clearer picture for treatment planning.
Additional advanced technologies at Tower Urology
Tower Urology’s commitment to innovation spans across all major conditions it treats. The practice offers:
- Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) for kidney and ureteral stones.
- Advanced laser therapies for prostate, bladder, and kidney stone disease.
- Laparoscopic and robotic procedures for cancer and reconstructive needs.
- Microwave therapy for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH, a.k.a. enlarged prostate).
- Biofeedback therapy for urinary incontinence.
With a legacy spanning more than five decades, Tower Urology’s combination of experienced physicians, Cedars-Sinai affiliation, and continuous investment in technology has made it a model for urological practices across the country.
Ready to choose the right urology team in Los Angeles?
Once you’ve done your research, book consultations with one or two practices. Ask your questions, compare how thoroughly each evaluates your condition, and notice how the physician communicates.
Tower Urology of Los Angeles combines board-certified expertise, Cedars-Sinai affiliation, multi-specialty coverage, advanced in-office diagnostics, and a convenient patient portal, all under one roof.
Meet the Tower Urology Subspecialty Team
Tower Urology’s physicians bring fellowship-trained expertise across every major urologic subspecialty, ensuring that whatever brings you in, you are seen by the right specialist from day one.
Urologic Oncology: For patients facing prostate, bladder, kidney, or testicular cancer, our oncology team includes Dr. Danoff, Dr. Sacks, Dr. Josephson, Dr. Bui, Dr. Cinman, Dr. Desai, and Dr. Ng.
Andrology: For male infertility, erectile dysfunction, and testosterone-related concerns, Dr. Sacks and Dr. Houman lead Tower Urology’s andrology practice.
Female Pelvic Medicine, Reconstructive Surgery & Neurourology: For incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, overactive bladder, and pelvic floor dysfunction, Dr. Rusnack, Dr. Leach, and Dr. Kuhlmann bring specialized expertise across all three of these interconnected areas.
Endourology: For kidney stones and minimally invasive urologic procedures, our endourology team includes Dr. Josephson, Dr. Bui, Dr. Desai, Dr. Houman, and Dr. Ng.
Tower Urology is conveniently located for patients throughout Southern California and the Los Angeles area, including Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, West Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Culver City, Hollywood, Venice, Marina del Rey, Burbank, Glendale, and Downtown Los Angeles.
Request an appointment at Tower Urology and take the first step toward a clear diagnosis and a treatment plan built around your needs.
Frequently Asked Questions about choosing a urologist
Before you book, confirm the basics by phone: Is the urologist board-certified? Do they have fellowship training relevant to your condition? What hospital are they affiliated with, and will your insurance cover procedures there? Is this a solo practice or a multi-physician group?
At your first appointment, these questions will tell you more than any online review:
- Are you fellowship-trained in the subspecialty relevant to my condition?
- How many patients like me do you treat each year?
- What are all of my treatment options — not just the one you recommend?
- Where would any procedure be performed, and what technology is available?
- Who covers your patients when you’re unavailable?
- What does follow-up care look like for my specific condition?
A urologist who answers these questions clearly and without impatience is demonstrating exactly the kind of practice culture you want.
Start with board certification from the American Board of Urology, verifiable through their online directory. Beyond that baseline, look for fellowship training in the subspecialty relevant to your condition, a hospital affiliation that gives access to the facilities you may need, a multi-physician group structure, and a physician who communicates clearly and presents multiple treatment options.
A urologist treats conditions of the urinary tract, including urinary tract infections (UTI), in both men and women, as well as the male reproductive system. A urogynecologist is a gynecologist with additional fellowship training in pelvic floor disorders — urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapses, and related conditions. For women with pelvic floor dysfunction, either a urogynecologist or a urologist with FPMRS fellowship training is appropriate.
You can verify board certification directly through the American Board of Urology’s publicly searchable online directory. You can also check a physician’s California license and any disciplinary history through the California Medical Board’s license lookup tool. Both take about two minutes and are free.
It depends on your insurance plan. HMO plans typically require a referral from your primary care physician. PPO plans generally allow you to book directly with a urologist, though out-of-network providers may cost more. If you’re unsure, call your insurer’s member services line before booking.
