Evaluation of the Experience of the Hotspotting Program on Complex Care Individuals in Salt Lake County

Healthcare costs are exceedingly high and continue to rise in the United States. Individuals with complex care needs are the most vulnerable to utilizing healthcare services that are inefficient and ineffective. The Camden Interprofessional Student Hotspotting Model was applied to identified complex care individuals in Salt Lake County using the University of Utah Healthcare services. This project aims to use action research methods to evaluate the subjective experience of complex care individuals in Salt Lake County participating in the Hotspotting Program to improve quality of program and intervention delivery. There is no known previous work focused on this topic. Twenty semi-structured, in-person interviews evaluated the experience of the participants working with Hotspotting teams. Identified themes were sorted using subjective clustering and appraised through affinity diagramming as opportunities for quality improvement of the Hotspotting Program. The findings demonstrate that participants value direct communication with their teams, appreciate the accountability and challenge of meeting mutual goals, and attach importance to team reinforcement of the native support of the participants (caregivers, family). The participants worry about burdening or disappointing the teams, benefit from reminders of the purpose and limitations of the Hotspotting Program, and expect the teams to help in understanding and assist in troubleshooting participants' problems and concerns. Opportunities to improve the quality of delivery of Hotspotting interventions are complex and contingent on the interactions between participants and team members. These opportunities are found in the subjective experience of the participants. Results of this evaluation project will be used to improve the program and additional cycles of evaluation are recommended to update and further identify areas of improvement for the Interprofessional Student Hotspotting Program.