Tobacco Cessation Electronic Health Record
Integration within an
Electronic Health Record
The target: Healthcare providers (including, but not limited to, physicians, nurses, physician assistants, health educators, dental professionals, etc.) can access all of the tobacco cessation resources for their patients through one simple protocol meant to be integrated into an Electronic Health Record. The tool is meant to be integrated into an Electronic Health Record so during each visit, the patient is assessed and assisted for quitting tobacco if they are a current user and are willing to quit their habit.
The purpose: Healthcare systems are charged with meeting standards of care, called Meaningful Use (MU). The MU guidelines have tobacco cessation requirements. The tobacco tool will help healthcare systems reach their meaningful use guidelines. Through formative research, including consultation with experts in health care delivery and tobacco prevention and control, we learned that Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are the most sustainable medium for developing and implementing a system change model for tobacco cessation.
The integration: The protocol is designed to compliment an existing EHR system or to integrate into one that is being designed. The purpose of the protocol is to assist the clinician/physician with a sustainable delivery method for tobacco cessation assistance, whether this is for prescription medications, over-thecounter medications or tobacco counseling assistance. The overall integration of the tool should focus on areas with a large reach, for example, large healthcare systems.
The promotion: The protocol can be promoted to your local hospital system as an accessory to their existing or developing Electronic Health Record. Connecting with the hospital system can include working with the Director of Information Technology or the Chief Information Officer. Smaller healthcare systems often do not have these titles; the best approach is to find out who is working to incorporate the new information to the healthcare systems.