Feature Story

Connections & Community Involvement Key to Bolstering the A/I Specialty

Theresa A. Bingemann, MD, FAAAAI, on building referrals and investing in the community

Building referrals, establishing connections outside the allergy/immunology specialty and spreading allergy/immunology awareness can seem overwhelming. But according to Theresa A. Bingemann, MD, FAAAAI, it doesn’t have to be.

“When you make yourself available to other healthcare professionals, a lot of these things, including new patient referrals, naturally happen,” she explained. “I love getting to meet people and learn different ways of doing things, and I enjoy connecting with different practices. So, a lot of this is fun for me.”

The first step, however, is making those initial connections. When Dr. Bingemann first started at Rochester Regional Health, her colleagues helped her get established by setting up meetings, allowing her to meet different physicians at their practices. Her colleagues would also introduce her to healthcare professionals they knew during various hospital events.

Once she had some initial connections, she had to put in the work to deepen them. “I’d ask if there were any topics in allergy/immunology that my primary care contacts wanted more information about,” she said. “I also gave some of them my phone number so if they had questions, they could reach out to me personally and not need to deal with a phone tree. I aim to be available and help others when they need it.”

If one of her connections does reach out about a patient, she tries to get that patient in for an appointment quickly and follows up with their primary physician. She also asks that physician for feedback, to make sure she’s meeting their needs.

Theresa A. Bingemann, MD, FAAAAI

Dr. Bingemann also takes the initiative and reaches out to healthcare professionals outside of allergy/immunology on her own. It can be as simple as dropping off allergy/immunology information to local primary care clinics - sometimes with a fun treat to encourage staff to engage with the materials. She also reaches out to specialists, such as dermatologists or otolaryngologists, and sometimes asks to shadow them. “I enjoy seeing how other specialists do things, and I like to see how they approach similar problems in their field,” she said. “It helps me learn new ways to address symptoms and allows me to get to know even more healthcare professionals in my community.”

Investing in the Community

Making direct connections with healthcare professionals is far from the only way Dr. Bingemann advocates for her practice and the specialty. When she’s not working, she also spends a lot of time volunteering in the community to educate patients, caregivers and professionals on a variety of allergy/immunology topics.

Examples of the work she’s done include giving talks at daycares and camps, developing educational content for various groups and organizations, delivering presentations at the library and other community centers and much more.

One notable highlight for her was an event held at her son’s elementary school. “They did a STEM day and would ask STEM career parents to come in and do programs,” she explained. “I put together an interactive program and did hands-on demonstrations with the kids. I had them build lung models and explained the mechanics of breathing. I educated them about asthma with an activity using a coffee stirrer, a large straw and a cotton ball, asking which was harder to breathe through. The kids really seemed to love it!”

She was asked back the next year, and in the end, participated in STEM day while all three of her children were enrolled in that elementary school. “I had a blast! The kids really liked it and could go home to their parents and explain how the lungs work, or what asthma felt like. It was a wonderful way to build awareness.”

Dr. Bingemann has also built awareness by working with local media. Over the years she’s not only written for local medical societies, but she’s also done interviews on TV and radio to provide expert opinions and showcase how allergist/immunologists can help with different conditions. “It’s so sweet - my patients love seeing me on TV,” she said. “I’ve had my patients come up to me, expressing how excited they were to see me on TV and how they told their friends or family I was their allergist.”

Dr. Bingemann firmly believes that being a part of your local community is key not only to getting more patient referrals, but to advocating for the allergy/immunology field as a whole. “I encourage everyone to find ways to get involved with their community, in whatever way is enjoyable for you,” she said. “By being visible, available and willing to help, we can really help our specialty shine.”

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