Helps patients spend 18,280 more
nights of sleep in their own beds
A broad-based coalition of
hospitals and care providers working across the continuum of care has prevented
4,570 avoidable hospital readmissions between Jan. 1, 2011 and Dec. 31, 2012. As
a result of the RARE Campaign (Reducing Avoidable Readmissions Effectively), it
is estimated that patients spent 18,280 more nights sleeping comfortably in
their own beds instead of the hospital. It’s better for patients and their families. The campaign is
also estimated to have reduced inpatient costs by more than $40 million.
The RARE Campaign involves 83
hospitals and 93 community partners across Minnesota and is one of the largest
coordinated improvement initiatives undertaken by the Minnesota health care
community.
The campaign was initiated to
address the fact that in Minnesota, nearly one in five Medicare patients is
readmitted within 30 days. According to the Health Research and Education
Trust, unplanned readmissions cost Medicare $17.5 billion. “Improving care
transitions is part of the Minnesota health care community’s effort to mend the
fragmented delivery of care and achieve the Triple Aim of improving population
health, the experience of care, and the affordability of care,” said Jennifer
Lundblad, president and CEO of Stratis Health, one of the campaign’s operating
partners.
The
campaign has gathered momentum since its launch. In the most recent time period measured, the 4th
quarter of 2012, hospitals achieved a roughly 17 percent reduction in avoidable
readmissions compared to baseline. These results are attributed to participants in the RARE
Campaign honing their work on five key areas that, if not managed well, are
known to be main contributors to avoidable hospital readmissions:
- Comprehensive discharge planning
- Medication management
- Patient and family engagement
- Transition care support
- Transition communications
For example, Swift County-Benson
Hospital has achieved success through a combination of interventions including
a focus on patient education, increased communication with primary care
providers and improved patient transfer communication and collaboration with
the area nursing home, assisted living and assisted living plus facilities, and
home care agencies. Any time the hospital does have a readmission, staff
conducts a thorough assessment to determine the reason for readmission and to
identify what could have been done differently before the patient was
discharged from the hospital.
At Essentia Health-St. Mary’s
Medical Center in Duluth the Nurse Care Line program contacts patients with
select diagnoses within 24-48 hours of discharge to answer questions, review
medications and discuss the importance of attending scheduled follow-up
appointments. The hospital is also working with its community partners
including home health agencies, nursing homes and the other hospitals to
improve communication across the continuum of care.
Energized by the progress to
date, the operating partners have extended the campaign through 2013. “We’re
excited about our progress, but we know the improvements can spread even
further. We’re challenging ourselves to think beyond the hospital system and
beyond a focus on disease-specific efforts,” said Lawrence Massa, president and
CEO of the Minnesota Hospital Association. “Hospitals are taking specific steps
to ensure a culture that is supportive of collaboration and that supports this
readmissions work.”
In 2013, the campaign
partners will focus on further engaging community partners beyond hospital
walls. Preventing avoidable readmissions
requires improved patient care coordination between hospitals and community
partners such as long-term care facilities, home care organizations and primary
care clinics. In that regard, the RARE Campaign is helping to increase
communication and improve care transitions across the health care system.
“In health care today, there
is increasing emphasis on the value of care patients receive and rewarding
providers for delivering high quality care as efficiently as possible,” said
Sanne Magnan, president and CEO, Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement.
“The value of the RARE Campaign is that, rather than individual medical
associations or hospitals tackling readmissions separately, partners from various
health care settings are working together. This collaborative approach enables
us to accelerate positive change across Minnesota.”
The RARE Campaign is led by
three operating partners: the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement, the
Minnesota Hospital Association and Stratis Health. Supporting partners include
the Minnesota Medical Association, MN Community Measurement and VHA Upper
Midwest.
To learn more about the RARE
campaign, visit www.rarereadmissions.org.