Encouraging Patient
Initiative Through
Narrow Networks

Dr. Jay LaCour is a board-certified ophthalmologist in New Orleans who credits a team-oriented approach to healthcare with helping to control the number of cases of serious glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy that come through his door. “It’s helpful in overall patient care when the internist and every other physician who’s involved in the patient’s care work as a team to emphasize the importance of getting all their preventive checks done,” says Dr. LaCour. “There’s nothing more frustrating than to see patients who have slipped through the cracks — with untreated diabetic retinopathy or end-stage glaucoma that, had we seen them in a timely fashion, might have had a different result.”

One of the solutions includes access to exclusive, accountable care network plans that offer coordinated, incentivized care — designed to keep the nearly 63,000 enrolled patients healthier through better communication among doctors, along with options like free health coaching or remote, online consultations. Employers and insurers become part of the healthcare equation by offering incentives that encourage people to get proactive about their health, while reducing lost workdays and insurance payouts for more critical care. In turn, the doctors in the network reinforce these messages. “The doctors in internal and family medicine are very much in tune and on top of their patients about getting their eyes checked,” continues Dr. LaCour, “and that is so important — giving them those reminders, so we’re addressing these problems earlier. In turn, we’re seeing those patients bring in a spouse or other family member, and that helps wellness spread in the general community.”