Baylor Scott and White at Austin Tech Ridge expands non-cancerous hematology services

Baylor Scott and White - Austin Tech Ridge expanded its non-cancerous hematology services in February to make benign hematology services more accessible to patients in the area.

The overview

These treatments include iron infusions, B12 injections, therapeutic phlebotomies and other services that help those with benign hematological disorders, or non-cancerous blood conditions.

Previously, these treatments were only available at Baylor Scott and White’s Round Rock location, yet due to the large volume of chemotherapy patients, many patients were waiting months for benign hematology treatments, as chemotherapy can be long infusions, said Dr. Vinod Kondragunta, oncologist at Baylor Scott and White.

“People can get very severely anemic while they’re waiting for their iron transfusions,” Dr. Kondragunta said. “The last thing we want is for people to have to resort to going to the emergency room to get blood transfusions.”

The details

Treatments are currently offered at the Tech Ridge clinic on Mondays and Wednesdays, yet Dr. Kondragunta said this could soon be increased to Thursdays as well due to demand.

What they're saying

“Patients are telling me, ‘I’m so glad you opened up this clinic because I was told I couldn't get an appointment until July,’” Dr. Kondragunta said. “We’re trying to improve people’s quality of life by getting them treatments as soon as possible.”