• Medical Alerts

  Need your summer camp forms filled out quickly?

  click here for more info

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  Attention high school athletes: need a sports physical FAST? Click here for more info.

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  Think you have the flu? DocTalker can help: Call us at 703-938-4604 x1. Click here for more info.

• Press Alerts

  Wanna see Dr. Simmons on TV?  Click here!
  

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  Thank you for voting us Fairfax's Best Medical Doctor! Click here for more info

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  Please note that our offices have limited handicap access. 

The DocTalker Medical Team is on call for you around the clock: 

Doctor:
Alan Dappen, MD

Dr. Alan Dappen graduated from the University of Washington Medical School in 1979. He completed his Family Medicine residency in 1983 at the University of California, Davis program in Modesto, California. A year later, he completed a Song-Brown Fellowship , and then finished coursework in Family Therapy in 1989. He has remained Board-certified in Family Medicine since 1983. Alan has practiced medicine in California, Kenya, Mexico, and since 1992, in Vienna, VA. He is an Associate Clinical Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Department of Family Practice, and recently became a graduate of Leadership Fairfax. Alan has published medical journal articles on diverse topics, including malaria, nutrition, and smoking. Thanks to his years living abroad, he speaks Spanish fluently. Alan is the founder of DocTalker Family Medicine and doctokr Inc.

Doctor:
Steve Simmons, MD

Steve is a Board-certified Internist, who received his Bachelor’s of Science with High Honors from the University of Tennessee in 1989 and his medical degree from the University of Tennessee in 1993. He then completed his residency at St. Joseph Hospital in Denver, Colorado.  In 1996, Steve was selected by his peers to receive the Dr. Annie Yee Johnson Memorial Award for compassion and professionalism. He spent 12 years working in primary and urgent care at Kaiser Permanente before joining DocTalker in 2008, where he has been spearheading the practice’s housecall program. He is a member of the American Geriatric Society and the Academy of Home Care Physicians, and presents frequently on providing medical care to the homebound housecalls. Steve lives in North Potomac, MD, with his wife, Rachel, an ER physician, and their two children. 

Doctor:
Madhu Henry, MD

Madhu Henry, MD  received her bachelor’s degree in International Affairs and Russian Studies from Elliot School of International Affairs at GWU. Through an early acceptance program Madhu started medical school at George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences and received her MD in 2002. She was awarded the prestigious National Health Service Scholarship to work with the underserved after her medical education. She went on to train in Internal Medicine inner city urban medicine at Howard University Hospital. Madhu fulfilled her service scholarship in Washington, DC working at Unity Healthcare the third largest provider of healthcare to the underserved in the world.

Madhu is well versed in cardio vascular disease management, women's health, preventative care and also received special training in HIV and Hepatitis C thru her work at Unity. She is the mother of four beautiful children who span from elementary to high school. She is fluent in Spanish and her native tongue from India, Tamil. She has recently become a practitioner of Bikram Yoga and very embracing of holistic forms of health care.

 

Doctor:
Val Jones, MD

Val graduated from medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City  in 2001. During her training she received a scholarship to conduct research in the department of plastic surgery at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, as well as a summer research fellowship in pediatric surgery at the University of Southern California, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health. She also completed research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City in its Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Val was the principal investigator of several clinical trials relating to sleep, diabetes and metabolism, and the Chief Resident of Rehabilitation Medicine at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan. Val volunteered at Walter Reed Army Medical Center from 2008-2009. She is board eligible in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and holds medical licenses in DC, VA, and NY.

Val is a regular contributor to ABC News Channel 8 in Washington, DC, the CEO of Better Health, LLC.

 

Nurse Practitioner:
Valerie Tinley, CFNP

Valerie Tinley is a Certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She has 30 years of experience in nursing that includes obstetrics, operating room and 12 years in breast cancer research. In 1997, she graduated with honors from George Mason/George Washington University Collaborative Program with a Masters of Science in Nursing/Family Nurse Practitioner. Since then, her work experience has been in urgent care, family practice, infectious disease, rheumatology, and health exams, particularly dealing with women's health issues and pre-surgical screening of preoperative patients. She brings with her a wealth of healthcare knowledge, experience, and a caring attitude.

Physician's Assistant:
Beth Gallagher

Beth Gallagher, Physician's Assistant, comes to us from Kaiser Permanente Urgent Care, where she worked for 12 years and had met  Dr. Dappen and worked with Dr. Simmons before their DocTalker days.  

Beth graduated from The George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences Physician Assistant program with a Master of Science in Health Sciences degree in 1995 and has been certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. Beth lives in Ashburn with her husband and children. She is an ideal complement to the wonderful, caring team of providers at DocTalker.

Nurse Manager:
Gail Hale

Gail Hale, RN is the nurse manager for DocTalker Family Medicine. She studied a combined nursing course at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and The Middlesex Hospital and Queen Charlottes Hospital for Women in London in the U.K., receiving her registration in General and Pediatric Nursing in 1977. 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, and has since lived in New York, Chicago, and Toronto, Canada, before relocating to Fairfax County, Virginia, in 1992. She obtained her Virginia Nursing License in 1995 and, following a Return to Nursing course at the University of Virginia, has worked at Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children. As the mother of four children she also has extensive experience using different health care systems. Gail has been with DocTalker since it was founded in 2001.

Administrative and Business Team

Director of Strategic Development:

Beth McNamara

Beth is the Director of Strategic Development for the practice and in this role she targets and develops new and existing patients bases for the practices and also works on operations in order to optimally enhance patient experience.  Beth offers over twenty years of experience in marketing and business, having been both entrepreneur and intrapreneur in several arenas, including publishing, internet technology, and small business marketing.  Since 2006, she has been an adjunct professor in business, marketing and management for Northern Virginia Community College and also has served as a marketing adjunct for Pepperdine.  Beth earned her MBA from John Hopkins Carey School of Business and her BA from Penn State.  Beth lives in Reston with her husband and three sons.  

Patient Communications:

Teri Humphrey