Alan Dappen, MD
Dr. Alan Dappen is the founder of DocTalker Family Medicine and a family physician who has practiced in Vienna, VA since 1992. At DocTalker he provides Direct Primary Care and capacity evaluations alongside Dr. Arun Bansal. Dr. Dappen graduated from the University of Washington School of Medicine in 1979 and completed his Family Medicine residency in 1983 through the University of California, Davis program in Modesto, California, followed by a Song-Brown Fellowship and coursework in Family Therapy in 1989. He has practiced medicine in California, Kenya and Mexico, and speaks Spanish fluently. He is an Associate Clinical Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Department of Family Practice, a graduate of Leadership Fairfax, and the author of medical journal articles on topics including malaria, nutrition and smoking. He also founded doctokr Inc.
Arun Bansal, MD
Dr. Arun Bansal is DocTalker’s owner and lead physician, a Castle Connolly Top Doctor (2025, 2026) and an Arlington Magazine Top Doctor (2026). In a time when healthcare has been stretched to its limits, the people who suffer the most are the patients. The lack of continuity, the lack of time spent, the lack of personalized healthcare and the total lack of relationship have led to increased frustration on both sides of the stethoscope. Dr. Bansal brings his years of experience in hospital care, urgent care and primary care to DocTalker. He began his journey outside of the “big box” system by opening his own Direct Primary Care clinic, TrustMDPC, in Arlington, Virginia, and has led DocTalker Family Medicine since 2024.
Anissa Ben Aida, FNP-BC
Nurse Practitioner
Anissa is a board-certified family nurse practitioner who received her Bachelors of Science in Exercise Science with high honors from the University of South Carolina in 2000 and her Masters of Science in Nursing from Georgetown University in 2008. She has worked in women’s health, pediatrics, and family medicine settings and has a strong background in working in community health prior to joining DocTalker. Anissa grew up with parents in the U.S. Foreign Service and spent 10 years living in Africa prior to age 16. She speaks Spanish and still remembers a lot of French as well. She was attracted to the DocTalker practice because of the revolutionary practice philosophy and the opportunity to form quality, personal relationships with patients/family members of all ages. Anissa lives in Ashburn with her three children, and their two dogs and two cats.
Gail Hale, RN
Nurse Manager
Gail Hale, RN is the nurse manager for DocTalker Family Medicine. She graduated in 1977 in London in the U.K., receiving her registration in General and Pediatric Nursing. She studied for her Health Visitors diploma at the University of the South Bank in London in 1984. She moved with her family to the States in 1985, living in New York, Chicago, and Toronto, Canada, before moving to Virginia in 1992. She worked at Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children for ten years leaving in 2009 to work full time at DocTalker. She is usually first contact for patients both in the office and on the phone. She lives in Oakton with her husband and has four children and one grandchild. Gail has been with DocTalker since it was founded in 2001.