Member Feature: Taj Kattapuram, MD

At Women of Denver, we love featuring impact-driven leaders making moves in their career. One of our newest members, Taj Kattapuram, MD Radiologist at Radiology Imaging Associates, PC, certainly fits that mold with a passion for supporting women's health initiatives at the state and national level. Learn more about Taj and her inspiring work in the Q&A below.

What unique impact do you make on the world through your work? 
My specialty is breast cancer imaging. I'm passionate about women's health and a strong advocate for patients to receive appropriate and timely health services with as much access as possible. I support reducing barriers to obtaining healthcare.

Tell us about a recent accomplishment you're proud of? 
Every year I testify on several pieces of legislation at the state and national capitals. This year I'm particularly proud to have assisted in writing and testifying on a piece of legislation that made it all the way through to become an official bill.

What actions do you take to support and empower other women? 
The bill I helped push through this year was HB19-1301, a bill on breast health care. The reason we pushed this bill so hard is because we know a big barrier to patients receiving appropriate healthcare is cost. This bill "should" guarantee all women with private insurance will not have any co-pays or other cost sharing when it comes to breast cancer imaging evaluation starting in 2020. It's not perfect, but it's a huge step in the right direction.

How did your career take off, and what do you attribute your success to most?
My passion for advocacy took off while I was in training in Boston. One of my male colleagues said I'd make a good leader and recommended I join organized medicine.

How do you keep yourself passionate and driven regardless of how busy you are day to day?
My patients inspire me. Finding breast cancer early and helping guarantee women a higher quality of life and years to come means the world to me.

What do you see as the future of your industry?
It will be very interesting as artificial intelligence tries to make a play in medicine, but at the end of the day I feel nothing beats the humanism in medicine.

What is the best piece of advice you've ever received?
There is no harm in asking.

What's been inspiring you lately?
My family.

What do you love most about Women of Denver? 
I am most excited about the opportunity to connect with women who are as passionate and driven as I am, but likely in different career fields. I'm looking forward to learning from different perspectives.

What else would you like our readers to know about you?
You can find me at any Invision Sally Jobe breast imaging center, Good Samaritan Hospital, and few other outpatient facilities should you ever have a breast concern.