"Hotspotting" Apparently Doesn't Reduce Superutilizers' Readmissions

By Joe Elia

Edited by Susan Sadoughi, MD, and Richard Saitz, MD, MPH, FACP, DFASAM

A promising approach to lowering healthcare usage among so-called "superutilizers" apparently doesn't work, according to an analysis in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The approach, known as "hotspotting," uses local hospital records to identify patients with multiple admissions and medically (and socially) complex conditions. These patients are likely to cause large expenditures within a system. Developed by the Camden [NJ] Coalition of Healthcare Providers, the Camden Core Model offers home visits, phone calls, and other resources to recently discharged superutilizers.

In a randomized study, some 800 patients were assigned to either the Core Model or usual care. The groups' readmission rates within 180 days of study entry served as the primary outcome.

Readmission rates didn't differ between the groups — both came in at roughly 62%.