Dr. Ryan Polselli
For the average person, many barriers can get in the way of seeking medical treatment. Distance, cost, and accessibility are some of the most common reasons that prevent Americans from seeking the care they need. Pair these issues with sensitive health topics that carry a lot of stigma and it can become nearly impossible for some to get a medical examination.
Take for instance the 25% of women between the ages of 50-75 who haven’t received a needed mammogram in the past two years as of 2022. This unfortunate statistic is likely the result of a few barriers, including distance, cost, and accessibility. Sadly, the cost of missing out on a mammogram can be life-altering. Due to these difficulties, some women go months to years without knowing about the serious health issues they are facing.
With all the adversity of addressing these varied issues, Dr. Ryan Polselli is one of the view people spearheading the cause. Dr. Polselli is a highly skilled expert in the field of breast imaging who has been meeting patients at their level rather than adding to their various barriers. His approach and business venture have allowed him to reach thousands of patients who would otherwise go without needed mammogram care.
A Leader In Mammography and Patient Care
Dr. Ryan Polselli has an extensive and impressive resume, to say the least. Upon completing his doctorate in medicine at the University of South Florida, he attained further doctorates in diagnostic radiology and breast imaging. With his expertise he spent some time in the clinical circles, serving patients within the breast imaging and radiology fields at GIS radiology and Emory Healthcare.
In his professional career, he works tirelessly to help his patients with their various needs. In addition to his everyday doctoral duties, an average day for him consists of “reading a couple of hundred screening mammograms, performing several biopsies, speaking with patients and physicians, and answering at least thirty miscellaneous text messages”.
It was during his clinical career that he began to notice major flaws in the radiological patient care system. He encountered numerous patients who had struggles receiving care due to a lack of funds, a lack of medical insurance, or fear of medical caregiving. Most sadly, many patients simply couldn’t receive care due to their area having no proper infrastructure or facilities for mammography.
Taking a leap, he pushed his efforts into entrepreneurship to serve his patients in a way that no one else could.
Mammolink’s Devotion To The Patient
Polselli’s entrepreneurial goals were set solely towards helping patients access care in new and comfortable ways. He wanted to fix the hurdles that many faced, including location incompatibilities, patient care stigma, and technological issues.
In 2016, he founded Mammolink, a company dedicated to revolutionizing the relationships that physicians and breast imaging technicians could foster with their patients. The company offers its breast imaging consultation expertise and technology to other physicians so that they can supply it to their clients. This breaks down the barriers to mammogram patient care, opening up opportunities for physicians to serve their clients in new ways.
Dr. Polselli’s Developments in Patient Care
Rather than centering medical processes on the needs and ability of the provider, Mammolink shifts to focus on the patient. These changes were characterized by multiple developments Dr. Polselli pioneered in the field of mammography.
Firstly, he helped develop the design of a 2D and 3D mammography instrument that improved the accuracy and precision of mammograms. These effectively cut down on time and reduce the errors related to a typical mammogram appointment. As a result, they helped to improve customer experience in a way that was new in the field.
Most notably, Mammolink, (a term formed from the word “mammogram” and “link”) was designed to link his services to primary care physicians. While it may seem modest, this model of care allows his team to assist physicians in providing much-needed mammogram care in areas where they were not accessible before. Rather than adding another middle man to the patient care pathway, Mammolink streamlines the process to focus on the patient experience.
Just when it seemed as though Polselli had solved the majority of patient issues he noticed, he went further. More specifically, he sought to tackle one of the largest problems in healthcare as a general industry: accessibility.
Across the nation, especially in rural areas, patient access to medical services is limited at best. This is especially true for niche patient care programs such as mammography. As a result, a large percentage of women simply go without the care they deserve for breast health maintenance.
Polselli sought to address this issue with a novel creation: mobile mammography services. He equipped multiple buses with state-of-the-art mammography equipment. When paired with his team of vetted mammography experts, Mammolink has been able to provide care to patients who lack traditional care facilities. In theory, these buses can travel to community centers, workplaces, and even schools to meet the needs of the community where they are.
As a bottom line, while these care strategies seem too good to be true, it is important to remember the weight that patient care can truly hold. On top of making patients feel taken care of, Dr. Polselli’s various innovations have the possibility of saving lives and serving communities who have otherwise been overlooked in medical care.
Dr. Polselli’s Outlook on Mammolink and The Future of Patient Care
Moving forward with his entrepreneurial and medical goals, Polselli has an optimistic outlook on the future of patient care. He wishes to continually extend the breadth of his business, allowing for more and more patients to access the care they deserve.
These aspirations have been becoming increasingly tangible as he has continued to improve and implement more technology such as the mammography buses across the state of Florida. He staunchly believes in the value of technology and believes that it can be the key to improving medical systems across the globe.
To help achieve these goals, Polselli is equipped with entrepreneurial skills, medical expertise, and an optimistic outlook. When asked about the secret to success in business, he simply replied, “You cannot be cheap. To be able to successfully grow your business you have to be willing to return your profits to your company.”
This view is precisely how Mammolink was and will be able to succeed in the future. He has repeatedly put possible profit back into the business to support new technicians and equipment. His sacrifices show where his motivations lie: the well-being of his patients.
Adapting Polselli’s Outlook to Other Medical Practices
While there is no “silver bullet” solution to medical accessibility, Dr. Polselli is surely coming close with his suite of innovative tools and business practices. He and his team have led Mammolink to interpret over 20,000 mammograms a year. This service enables them to reach those who would otherwise be cast aside by our overburdened medical system.
Polselli hopes that his innovations will continue to reach new patients and that other medical professionals will follow his untraditional path. He claims that there should be a future where the patient is in control rather than insurance companies and providers. Despite his highly ambitious medical goals, it is clear that our medical systems require some changes. In the future, novel practices such as Polselli’s may be the key to helping patients in ways that matter to them.
These hopeful sentiments are perfectly summed up in the words of Dr. Polselli himself:
“Good business is often bad medicine. However, good medicine is always good business.”
