"It is going help me, help my patients." Ginger Isom-Batz, MD

April 25, 2018

Board certified in both Urology and Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, and Fellowship-trained in Female Urology Dr. Ginger Isom-Batz practices at Urology Clinics of North Texas in Dallas. She was kind enough to sit down and talk to us about her experience in using MicroGen DX to care for her patients, and the difference it has made over traditional cultures.

Right away Dr. Isom-Batz told us how getting better, more accurate information through MicroGen DX has caused her to rethink her previous trust in traditional culture methods.

“There were certainly a lot of times that we were pretty convinced somebody had some type of infection in their bladder,” Dr. Isom-Batz told us, “and the tests were coming out negative. What we found is through working with some of these tests [from MicroGen DX] that sometimes some of those patients truly do have some bacteria in their urine that’s not being picked up on the regular cultures. In the past, I really didn’t even know to even consider that. I just had assumed that cultures were always correct.”

Another facet of the MicroGen DX testing which Dr. Isom-Batz has been pleased with is the range of information it provides with a single, two part DNA test. Where as she has had to reply on multiple different kinds of tests, each at its own price, she can now use MicroGen DX to identify all different kinds of microbes- bacteria and fungi- all in one test and at one price.

“With this test [from MicroGen DX], you just can look for everything at once,”

she told us, “such as the microplasma, ureaplasma that we know cause urinary tract symptoms but traditionally you’d have to order a special test for that. What we have found is that test can be a little expensive. We don’t usually order it the day the patient’s in the first time so then we have to get them to come back to order another test.”

The days of expensive testing and uncertainty are over, according to Dr. Isom-Batz, thanks to MicroGen DX.

“This way [with MicroGen DX] we just do it all at once,” she explained. But MicroGen DX doesn’t just give her confidence in what IS there, but also what is NOT there. “I’ve used this in order to prove to a patient that they don’t have infections as well,” Dr. ISom-Batz told us. “It’s that same type of patient that comes in with a lot of bladder pain, discomfort, frequency burning. Been told they have negative cultures over and over again. I will use this to tell them I feel 100% confident at this point that what you’ve been told in the past is true and there’s no infection and we need to go down a different road for your treatment plan.”

The difference between traditional cultures and MicroGen DX’s DNA testing has been bennefitial for both the physicians and patients in Dr. Isom-Batz opinion.

“It really is something that makes them happy,” she told us, “because they feel like maybe for months or even years they’ve had problems figuring out what’s wrong with them and just keep being told nothing is wrong or their cultures are negative. That means it can’t be infection and now they’re finally feeling justified.”

“Having this as a tool, I think has definitely helped my patients have confidence in my abilities and my decisions.”

Dr. Isom-Batz told us that, while cultures are still the norm, the word is getting out, and both patients and doctors want to know about what MicroGen DX can do for them. “A lot of them have never heard of this type of technology before,” she explained. “Their doctors a lot of times have never heard of the technology either. They’re going back to their primary care physicians with a new test. I’ve even been contacted by primary care physicians asking what is this all about, how can I get it?