HJNO Sep/Oct 2024

J. Casey Chapman, MD Dr. Chapman is a gastroenterologist focusing on inflammatory bowel disease at Baton Rouge General Crohn’s & Colitis Center, Chief Medical Officer and Medical Director of Research for GI Alliance, and a Board Member of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. In collaboration with Baton Rouge General, he started the Crohn’s & Colitis Center in 2019 to offer holistic care to his IBD patients. He has particular interests in chronic disease management and leveraging IBD research to enhance patient care. quote above. I could see each one of them ly- ing in bed awake at night thinking about how they can work together as a team to make a patient better. I can see each of them com- ing to work highly engaged and motivated, feeling so fortunate to connect with the deep sense of purpose that drove them to a career in healthcare in the first place. I can see how they understand that trust and relationships are the cornerstone of co-producing measured clini- cal excellence where the patient is the most respected and revered member of the team. I could never see them calling a patient non- compliant or nonadherent because they would feel that it would be disrespectful for them to do so. Rather, they would consider it their duty to completely understand each patient’s individual barriers, obstacles, and challenges that stand in the way of them making progress to their short-term and long-term goals. They would then harness the power of their collec- tive talent and individual domain knowledge to try and problem solve how to overcome these challenges. They understand that longer vis- its and taking time to completely understand those challenges is the essence of earning their patients’ trust and helping them to solve prob- lems and make progress toward their goals. And, lastly, they understand that data and tech- nology have a crucial role in measuring their outcomes and constantly refining, adjusting, and improving the processes correlated with superior performance. They represent the very best of what healthcare has to offer. If only the payers would realize that the biggest barrier to this type of care becoming the normative stan- dard for all of healthcare delivery is their trans- action-based mindset of traditional healthcare financing, or at least the relative undervaluation of the importance of well-designed primary care as the foundation of producing clinically excellent outcomes. And if only there were more providers enlightened enough to real- ize that there is a better way of delivering care, something we need to be constantly striving to realize. Fortunately, there are some innovators out there showing us the way. We just need to be open-minded to new possibilities and new frontiers that will one day yield a better expe- rience of care for both patients and providers that are concomitantly generating better health outcomes at a much more affordable price. n Randee Kidder, FNPC Randee Kidder is a nurse practitioner with 10 years of experience. Initially working in primary care, she has now worked as a gastroenterology NP at the Baton Rouge General Crohn’s & Colitis Center for the past 5 years. She has served on advisory boards and as a faculty speaker for various pharmaceutical companies. She has a particular interest the provider- patient relationship and the role it plays in chronic disease management. Courtney Robert, MHA, MSW, LCSW Courtney Robert is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Master of Health Administration. She works as a therapist at the Crohn’s & Colitis Center, specializing in motivational interviewing, CBT, and EMDR. She also leads an IBD support group through the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. Courtney began working with IBD patients in 2017 and has a particular interest in the connection between chronic disease, gut health, and mental health and will be pursuing further education in gut-directed hypnotherapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Hartman Brunt, MD, MHCM Hartman Brunt is an Internal Medicine physician with a focus on inflammatory bowel disease, serving as a primary care provider at the Baton Rouge General Crohn’s and Colitis Center. He is also the Medical Director of the Baton Rouge General Department of Research and contributes as a Physician Builder for Epic EHR. He has a Master of Healthcare Management and is currently pursuing a Master of Health Informatics at Northwestern University. He hopes to use his knowledge of informatics to facilitate and enhance the management of IBD and other chronic conditions.