‘We have a home’: Physician aims to create network of women allergists

Key takeaways:

• Priya J. Bansal, MD, FAAAAI, FACAAI, wants to minimize burdens on providers and improve patient care nationwide.
• Bansal is using her platform to create a community of women allergists.

Priya J. Bansal, MD, FAAAAI, FACAAI, has always prioritized quality patient care as an allergist, but as insurance companies create more barriers for patients, Bansal has been advocating for policies to return to a quality-of-care model.

Bansal is an allergist immunologist at the Asthma and Allergy Wellness Center in Saint Charles, Illinois and a faculty member at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine. She is also heavily involved in the Illinois Society of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ISAAI), the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, American Board of Allergy and Immunology and the American College of Allergy Asthma & Immunology. She has used her platform in these organizations to minimize burdens on providers and improve care for patients.

Bansal, who also serves as consulting medical editor of Healio’s Women in Allergy, said she also wants to create a community for the growing population of women allergists to learn about women’s issues and to find mentorship.

Buying her own practice

Bansal said she was exposed to allergy/immunology through her dermatology rotation during medical school. She initially wanted to be a dermatologist, but realized she was not interested in focusing solely on skin.

“What I love about allergy/immunology is that it brings your whole body together,” Bansal said. “I realized that I liked learning and dealing with the different disease states that the immune system ties together.”

Bansal completed her residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at University of Illinois Chicago and her fellowship at Rush University. She spent 15 years working at a group practice in the Chicago area until the practice was purchased by a hospital system.

“The reason I left was because the system had volume-based incentives, and I did not want to do that,” Bansal said.

After leaving the practice, Bansal explored a variety of different career paths including pharma, group practice and private practice. Then, the day she was going to sign a contract with a group practice, she received a call from an acquaintance who was trying to sell their practice.

“They were calling me because of my connection with the Illinois Society of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology to see if I knew anyone who would be interested in buying the practice,” Bansal said. “I sat back and thought, ‘Why not me?’”

Less than 2 months later, in January 2019, Bansal opened her own office, Asthma and Allergy Wellness Center in St. Charles, Illinois. Although starting her own practice was a challenge, Bansal kept telling herself she could make it work.

“I think one advantage of doing this a little bit later in my career was that I had more self-confidence,” Bansal said.

Bansal has had the opportunity to mentor young allergists through her clinic — she said she has medical students and physician assistant students who rotate through her office, and she has worked with residents and fellows on research through her faculty appointment at Northwestern University.

“I was able to be mentored, and I am willing to pay it forward,” Bansal said. “There will always be people that try to tear you down, but you should surround yourself with fantastic people that give you positive feedback and are your cheerleaders.”

Keeping her finger on the pulse

Outside her practice, Bansal previously served as president of the ISAAI. She also serves on the board of directors for the AAAAI and the American Board of Allergy and Immunology and has been a state delegate for the ACAAI. She has participated in committees on practice management, prior authorization, women’s health and health disparities, among others.

“I always had an interest in practice management and technology, and I found it was a place for me to put all of my passion and energy,” she said. “I do not want to complain about situations; I would rather try to change them.”

Through her advocacy, Bansal said the ISAAI successfully lobbied to get epinephrine into Illinois schools, and the AAAAI prior authorization committee created more uniform prior authorization priorities to present to insurance companies.

Bansal said the work she does with state and national organizations has made her a better health care provider.

“It allows me to come in and treat my patients better because my finger is on the pulse of what is happening on a bigger scale,” she said.

Her quality patient care has been recognized several times. Bansal was named a Castle Connolly Top Asian American and Pacific Islander Doctor in 2024, and she was named a Castle Connolly Top Doctor from 2021 to 2024.

“The papers I write, the research I am doing, and all of the committee work gives me a better idea of what is going on in the community around me, and it feeds back into providing better care for my patients,” Bansal said. “At the end of the day, that is what it is all about — doing the best job I can for my patients.”

‘We have a home’

Bansal has been championing for women allergists through her work as well, especially as more women enter the subspecialty. She remembers being a working mother who was not given flexibility in her workplace, and she is hoping that will change for younger women in the field.

She also wants to see more women in leadership positions like her to serve as advocates and mentors.

“I was giving a talk, and this woman was just staring at me,” Bansal recalled. “At the end of the talk, she came up to me and said she was so excited to see someone who looked like her, and that was such a big moment for me. My greatest achievement is being able to have the platform to represent.”

In 2022, Bansal joined Healio’s Allergy/Asthma Peer Perspective Board, but she wanted to see more content aimed directly toward women allergists. She enthusiastically stepped into her role as consulting medical editor for Healio’s Women in Allergy, which launched in February.

“My hope is that as women allergists, we have a home,” Bansal said. “This is a home where we can learn about research being done with pregnant women or that affect women’s issues, as well as learning what other women in our space are doing, how they deal with issues and how they accomplish their goals.

“I also want this to be a space where we can network and find mentorship or get inspired to volunteer for something or take something on,” she said, adding that she hopes women allergists reach out to her and other Women in Allergy Peer Perspective Board Members if they require support or mentorship.

“Please don't feel alone or are isolated, or that your problem is only your problem,” she said. “If we don’t know how to solve it, we can always connect you with someone who can help you and learn how to solve it. There’s power in numbers, and it’s better if we all stick and join together.”

For more information:

Priya J. Bansal, MD, FAAAAI, FACAAI, can be reached at asthmaallergywellness@gmail.com.