December 5, 2020
By Jennifer Daspit, Practice Transformation Specialist, Louisiana
Drew Brees, the quarterback of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints, the first quarterback to bring home a Super Bowl trophy to the Pelican State, has a pretty simple formula for success: “When you wake up,” he says, “think about winning the day. Don’t worry about a week or a month from now – just think about one day at a time. If you are worried about the mountain in the distance, you might trip over the molehill right in front of you.”
Every morning, not far from New Orleans, there are a few more Louisianans who wake up thinking about how to win the day. They’re the team at the practice run by Dr. Bryan LeBean – a primary care physician who’s been serving in the community of Lafayette for 23 years. And they have a name an NFL quarterback would appreciate – “Team LeBean.”
Just recently, Dr. LeBean’s practice joined the Aledade Louisiana Accountable Care Organization – to find new ways to provide better care to the families in Lafayette, while keeping the practice’s independence. Working closely with other practices in the area, Team LeBean shared some of the tactics and strategies that worked for them – how to properly conduct an Annual Wellness Visit, some ideas for good care management.
They also borrowed a few good ideas, one of which has paid off every morning. Before starting each day, Team LeBean sits down for a Daily Huddle. The entire care management team runs through a few standard questions, and then covers any other topics that came up.
They start by looking at how many AWVs have been scheduled for the day, and how many patients are in the hospital or recently visited the Emergency Department – information that they can find right on the Aledade app.
They then take a look at a few patients with chronic conditions – like diabetic patients, especially those in need of an eye exam, and patients enrolled in tobacco cessation. After running through a few other items, they wrap up by focusing on any particular patient complaints or concerns – always keeping an eye on how today can run even better than the day before.
That’s how you win the day. By working closely together – practices like Team LeBean, their patients, and Aledade are winning the day. And they’re well on their way to a better health care system with strong, independent primary care practices suiting up in the quarterback role they were always meant to play.