Electronic health records have the potential to make it easier for health care providers to screen for and document tobacco use and to intervene with patients who use tobacco products. In addition, patient lists generated by an electronic health record system can offer timely feedback to providers and can also be used to identify issues where improvement is needed. Most smokers want to quit and make at least one medical visit each year.
Documenting smoking status and intervening with smokers in health care settings increases quit rates, but many providers and practices do not routinely take these actions. An electronic-health-record-based pay-for-improvement initiative conducted in 19 Community Health Centers in New York City during October 2010 through March 2012 sought to increase smoking-status documentation and cessation interventions. At the end of the initiative, the mean proportion of patients who were documented as smokers had increased from 24% to 27% while the mean proportion of documented smokers who received a cessation intervention increased from 23% to 54%.
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