Tobacco cessation program utilization

Abstract

Purpose: Every year in the United States, tobacco use kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides combined. In Montana, 440 million dollars a year are spent on illnesses directly related to tobacco use and 1,600 adults die from smoking-related illnesses. The American Lung Association Freedom from Smoking Program (FFSP) is an evidence-based, gold-standard tobacco cessation program in place at a medical facility in Helena, Montana but is not being utilized due to a cumbersome referral process and lack of provider knowledge about this program. The aim of this quality improvement (QI) project is to increase providers' knowledge about the FFSP and create a streamlined electronic medical record (EMR) referral process to increase the utilization of the FFSP. Methods: A new referral process in the existing EMR was created and information about the FFSP and the new ordering process was disseminated to all relevant providers. Results: The number of results to the FFSP was tallied each week for five weeks. At the end of five weeks, there were 21 referrals, up from zero before the start of this QI project. Twenty-one referrals are only 8% out of the average 240 smokers seen at this medical facility per month. Implications: Referrals to the FFSP will occur if providers have knowledge and buy-in about the importance of the program and access to an easy-to-use referral system in the existing EMR.