Maintaining patient health after a hospital stay...
RARE - Reducing Avoidable Readmissions Effectively

Goal Progress

progress chartThe RARE Campaign participants have collectively prevented 4,570 readmissions in the last two years--exceeding our goal of 4,000—based on fourth quarter 2012 results.

The RARE Campaign aimed to prevent 4,000 avoidable hospital readmissions within 30 days of hospital discharge between July 1, 2011 and December 31, 2012. This means 18,280 more nights of sleep at home for patients and reduced health care expenditures by more than $40 million. Congratulations to all participants for this continued progress on behalf of patients and their families throughout Minnesota. This is challenging and meaningful work that affects the lives of many.

Expanded Campaign Goals through 2013
The campaign goals has been expanded to:

  • Prevent an additional 2,000 avoidable readmissions for a total of 6,000
  • Continue to reduce the percentage of readmissions by 20 percent
  • Help Minnesota residents sleep in their own beds 8,000 more nights for a total of 24,000 nights
  • Save an additional estimated $20 million in health care expenditures

Triple Aim Goals

The challenges facing health care in Minnesota require a statewide, concerted effort to achieve the Triple Aim of improving population health, the experience of care, and the affordability of care. Here is how the RARE Campaign plans to meet each of the aims:

Population Health

  • Prevent 4,000 avoidable readmissions within 30 days of discharge between July 1, 2011 and December 31, 2012, thus avoiding unnecessary rehospitalizations and their associated burdens.
  • Reduce the overall readmission rate by 20% (from 5.8% in 2009 to 4.6% by December 31, 2012), as measured by MHA PPR data.(1)

Care Experience

  • Help patients and families to spend 16,000 nights of sleep* in their own beds versus in the hospital.
  • Improve by 5% the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey questions related to hospital discharge by end of 2012:
    • Percent of patients reporting they received information about what to do during their recovery at home will increase by five percentage points from the 2010 baseline level.
    • Percent of patients reporting that they were not given information about what to do during their recovery at home will decrease by five percentage points from the 2010 baseline level.

Affordability of Care

  • Decrease health care costs by avoiding 4,000 preventable readmissions, with preliminary estimates at more than $30 million annually in the commercially insured population.
* 4,000 readmissions X average length of hospital stay (4 days) = 16,000 nights of sleep in their own beds.
1. These goals are based on the following: 1) All Minnesota inpatient admissions (all ages) excluding newborn, oncology, trauma and burn patients; 2) Baseline measure: January 1 to December 31, 2009, and 3) Data source: Minnesota All Payer (PPR) data, MHA, a quarterly report beginning in September 2011 that will be provided to all campaign participants and partners
Patients and family members
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RARE is a campaign lead by the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement, the Minnesota Hospital Association, and Stratis Health. This Web site is supported by Stratis Health, the Quality Improvement Organization for Minnesota, under a contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. 10SOW-MN