Student Hotspotting: Teaching the Interprofessional Care of Complex Patients

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Medical Education
• Public Health

Background:

• High healthcare costs are often driven by individuals with complex health and social needs.
• The hotspotting approach utilizes interprofessional teams to engage high-utilization communities and address these needs.
• Training health professions students in this model offers potential benefits for trainees, academic health centers, and communities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the Interprofessional Student Hotspotting Learning Collaborative in training health professions students.
• To assess the impact of the hotspotting approach on students' understanding of social determinants of health and interprofessional teamwork.
• To identify key elements for program improvement based on student experiences.

Main Methods:

• The Interprofessional Student Hotspotting Learning Collaborative trained health professions students in interprofessional teams at academic health centers.
• Students provided home visits and intensive case management for complex patients over a six-month period.
• The study analyzed reflections from a five-student team at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) within a larger 10-site collaboration.

Main Results:

• The hotspotting program successfully educated students on the impact of social determinants on health.
• Students recognized the benefits of interprofessional teamwork in addressing complex patients' unmet health and social needs.
• Identified areas for improvement included enhanced program structure, protected time, and formalized patient transition processes.

Conclusions:

• The hotspotting approach is effective in training health professions students to address complex patient needs and social determinants of health.
• Future program iterations should focus on curriculum enhancement, protected time/academic credit, and integration with primary care.
• Further research is recommended to evaluate the program's broader impact on patients, health systems, and communities.