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Doctors Want More Quit-Smoking Help for Patients

Posted on: Thursday, 17 May 2007, 09:00 CDT

WASHINGTON, May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Doctors in the United States, while acknowledging the importance of talking to patients who smoke about quitting, identify a need for more resources that they can use to assist patients and increase patient follow through with attempts to quit smoking.

Nearly 70 percent of American smokers want to quit, but few actually use the most effective treatments that can help them do so successfully. Physicians are among the most important sources of health information and have the potential to make a major contribution to further reducing tobacco use. More than two-thirds of Americans see a physician at least once a year, and physicians who advise their patients to quit can increase success rates by 30 percent(1). However, according to the new study, Physician Behavior and Practice Patterns Related to Smoking Cessation, far more can be done and needs to be done to promote physician involvement in efforts to reduce tobacco use and to encourage smoking cessation.

This study was conducted by the Center for Workforce Studies at the Association of American Medical Colleges on behalf of the American Legacy Foundation(R). Based on a survey of several thousand physicians, the study found that physicians believe it is their role to help patients quit smoking. Eighty-six percent of physicians say they "usually" advise patients to quit smoking, yet few regularly provide extensive assistance to help patients try to quit. For example, only 13 percent of physicians regularly refer smokers to others for appropriate smoking cessation treatment. Physicians cite limited services and resources as barriers to effective interventions with patients who smoke. They also noted that a lack of patient motivation, limited coverage for services and limited reimbursement for their time spent with patients dedicated to quitting smoking as additional challenges.

More can be done to increase the role of physicians. The study found higher rates of physician referrals to quit-smoking resources in states where there is a greater investment in tobacco control programs. In addition, office policies guiding physicians' smoking cessation practices may be effective strategies in increasing the physician's role in smoking cessation treatment. Rates of physician referrals to quit-smoking resources were found to be higher in practices that require specific smoking related conversations with patients. In addition, the study found that physicians required by office policies to ask about whether or not their patients smoke and document their patients' smoking status were in fact more likely to be actively promoting smoking cessation and assisting their patients; yet only about half the physicians have such requirements.

"The medical community and public health community need to work together to make it possible for more people to quit smoking," said Cheryl Healton, Dr. P.H. and American Legacy Foundation president and CEO. "Increasing the available information and resources is key to making this goal a reality."

The authors of the study recommend the following steps to help prepare and motivate doctors:

-- Provide better and faster information to physicians on available resources and services in the community. -- Improve the reimbursement for treatment services and time. -- Encourage physician practices to require greater documentation of efforts. -- Increase the availability of Continuing Medical Education (CMEs) on smoking cessation and behavior change. -- Expand medical school curriculum related to smoking cessation and behavioral change.

"This study indicates that more can be done to utilize physicians in the national effort to prevent smoking and tobacco use," said Edward Salsberg, director of the AAMC Center for Workforce Studies and principle investigator of the study. "With the necessary tools and support, doctors can help more Americans kick the habit and improve their health."

For the study researchers surveyed a national sample of doctors specializing in family medicine, general internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology and psychiatry, since these doctors have extensive contact with patients, are likely to treat patients who are smokers, and are most likely to be a first point of contact for patients.

For more information and the text of the entire report, please visit: http://www.americanlegacy.org/ or http://www.aamc.org/workforce/.

The American Legacy Foundation(R) is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the foundation develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use, especially among vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco, through grants, technical assistance and training, partnerships, youth activism, and counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns. The foundation's programs include truth(R), a national youth smoking prevention campaign that has been cited as contributing to significant declines in youth smoking; EX(SM), an innovative public health program designed to speak to smokers in their own language and change the way they approach quitting; research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use; and a nationally-renowned program of outreach to priority populations. The American Legacy Foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. Visit http://www.americanlegacy.org/.

The AAMC Center for Workforce Studies collects and analyzes data to promote a supply and distribution of physicians consistent with the demands and needs of the U.S. population and to inform the medical education and training community, policy makers and the public regarding physician workforce needs.

(1) Fiore MC, Bailey WC, Cohen SJ, et al. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence. Clinical Practice Guideline. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service. June 2000.

American Legacy Foundation

CONTACT: Kimberley Collins for American Legacy Foundation,+1-904-280-2773, kcollins@golinharris.com

Web site: http://www.americanlegacy.org/http://www.aamc.org/workforce

Source: PRNewswire

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