Preventing Avoidable Hospital Readmissions
and Improving Care Transitions
Most of us have had a loved one who had to return to the hospital soon after being discharged. We can identify with the anxiety, unrest and burden felt by all those involved when this occurs. And it occurs too often. Nearly one in five Medicare patients discharged from hospitals in Minnesota is readmitted within 30 days. Many of these returns could be prevented.
ICSI, along with the Minnesota Hospital Association and Stratis Health, combined to launch the RARE (Reducing Avoidable Readmissions Effectively) Campaign. Its goal was to prevent 6,000 avoidable readmissions between July 1, 2011 and Dec. 31, 2013.
The RARE Campaign recognizes that returning unnecessarily to the hospital is not just a hospital problem, but the result of poor coordination of care as patients move through the health care system. That is why the RARE Campaign focuses on five key areas for improvement:
- A thorough plan for care after leaving the hospital
- Managing the patient’s medicines
- Preparing the patient/family for what to do after hospitalization
- Coordinating care as the patient transitions to their next location
- Improving communications among health care providers about the patient's ongoing needs
Triple Aim Results
The statewide RARE Campaign is supported by more than 100 Community Partners, such as the Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Alliance for Patient Safety, health plans, nursing homes and home care associations. Through 2013, the 80+ Minnesota hospitals participating in the campaign helped prevent 7,975 patients from needlessly returning to the hospital. And with an average hospital stay of four days, Minnesotans enjoyed 31,900 nights of sleep in their own beds instead of unnecessarily in the hospital. Learn more.
This is another example of how ICSI and other collaborators are helping our patients and our communities achieve the Triple Aim goals of improving:
- The health of people in our communities
- The experience patients have when in the health care system
- The affordability of care
Not only have Minnesotans received higher quality care, the campaign has also helped reduce health care expenditures by more than $70 million, helping to slow the rise in health care costs.