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Join the No Place Like Home Campaign and be part of its broad and growing base of stakeholders.
A Statewide Initiative
Individual hospitals and other care provider groups are doing impressive work to reduce avoidable readmissions. However, there continues to be the need to improve the quality and lower the cost of healthcare in our state. Since hospital readmissions are often the result of incomplete or ineffective communication between providers and a fragmented system, we believe that involving more care provider groups and collaborating statewide will achieve greater results faster than taking many individual approaches.
The Arizona healthcare community is recognized for its willingness to collaborate, which makes such a broad campaign possible. Not only can we greatly improve people's health, but this initiative complements the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS') work to reduce avoidable hospital readmissions at the national level.
Why Join?
The Right Thing to Do
Most of us have likely had a loved one—parent, spouse, child, or friend—who returned to the hospital soon after being discharged. We can identify with the anxiety, unrest, and burden felt by all of those involved when this occurs. Patients and their families would much prefer to remain in their homes and be surrounded by the things that bring them comfort, such as their pets, their food, and their own bed. We have a great opportunity to prevent avoidable readmissions and ensure our loved ones enjoy better health at home because there really is no place like home.
Costs
The estimated average cost of a readmission ranges from $8,000 to $13,0001, so there is an opportunity to save tens of millions of dollars in Arizona.
It Can be Done
Individual hospitals in the country have already significantly reduced avoidable readmissions in the past year using evidence-based best practices that can be easily replicated2.
Avoid Bad Outcomes
Nearly one in five Medicare patients discharged from hospitals is readmitted within 30 days. Only 10 percent of those were planned. For 50 percent of the patients who were rehospitalized within 30 days after a medical discharge to the community, it appears there was no visit to a physician's office between the time of discharge and rehospitalization3.
Penalties
Hospitals with higher than expected, risk-adjusted 30-day readmission performance can incur penalties up to 1 percent of their total inpatient Medicare payments beginning in fiscal year 2013 (October 2012–September 2013). The penalties increase each year after that until it reaches 3 percent. Some estimate the bottom line impact could result in 60 percent of hospitals experiencing payment reductions of between $10,000 and $500,000 in FY 2013.
Medicare Payments
Financial penalties that reduce Medicare payments for readmissions can be avoided. This allows for resources to be available to support hospital services, equipment enhancements, capital purchases, and other similar activities.
Addressing Fragmentation
Hospital readmissions are the result of a fragmented healthcare system. Addressing this fragmentation across the care continuum will improve care delivery overall and increase the hospital's value and stature in the community.
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View Campaign Overview Materials!