Hot-spotting (Answer B) is a population health management technique used to identify patients or geographic areas that generate a disproportionately high number of emergency room visits or healthcare costs. By focusing on these "hot spots," healthcare providers can develop targeted interventions to address the underlying issues that lead to frequent ER visits, such as chronic disease management, social support needs, or access to primary care. The aim is to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare utilization in these high-need areas.
The other options refer to different public health or surveillance methods:
* Public health surveillance (A) is the continuous, systematic collection and analysis of health data for the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice.
* Syndromic surveillance (C) involves the real-time collection of data on symptoms or syndromes to detect potential outbreaks of disease before diagnoses are confirmed.
* Cold-spotting (D) typically refers to identifying areas or populations with low healthcare utilization or unmet needs, which is the opposite focus of hot-spotting.
References:
* National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ) - Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) Study Materials.
* Population Health Management Techniques, NAHQ Documentation.
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