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About Quit Manager
Tobacco use continues to be a leading contributor to death and disability in the United States. There is a continued need to refine brief and effective methods to aid in tobacco cessation. About 70% of tobacco users visit a health care professional each year and report that they would prefer to abstain from smoking. Tobacco users generally respect and trust the advice given by their health care provider which makes the health care setting an ideal place for screening and the provision of tobacco cessation services. Brief interventions can be effective and can have a public health impact. The Public Health Service (PHS) recommends that all health care providers conduct screenings for tobacco usage and provide tobacco cessation services to their patients. The PHS guidelines assist providers in their effort to treat patients in a primary care setting. The following tenants are encouraged by PHS to facilitate detection and treatment efforts:
1. ASK all patients if they use tobacco products;
2. ADVISE tobacco users to quit;
3. ASSESS interests in quitting;
4. ASSIST those interested in quitting and;
5. ARRANGE follow-up services for patients attempting to quit.
QuitManager is a tobacco focused website that can be used by health professionals (and their patients) to monitor gradual abstinence from cigarette smoking and to help prevent relapse by instituting the above guidelines. The goal is to keep the patient and provider in close communication concerning the quit process without placing additional demands on the health practice environment. How does Quit Manager work?
1. The provider contact registers him/herself and the medical facility as a QuitManager
subscriber.
2. The provider identifies tobacco users interested in quitting through traditional means (e.g., general information gathered during routine visits), and registers interested patients into the QuitManager program. Registration is simple and can be accomplished in about 2-3 minutes.
3. The provider develops a brief treatment plan using the QuitManager website. The patient is provided with customized information about their quit plan.
4. The QuitManager program will track the patient using the secured website and/or automated phone calls to their preferred contact number. The patient contact will be at regular intervals to:
- Remind the patient of his or her quit date;
- Assess medication side effects and nicotine withdrawal symptoms at increasing intervals including: 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, and 30 days after quitting;
- Assess progress in achieving initial cessation and perceived confidence in remaining quit;
- Alert the provider of any problems with the patient achieving cessation, or if they are experiencing medication side effects and/or withdrawal symptoms and;
- Assist the provider in tracking cessation rates and prescription patterns of participating patients and other descriptive data through a series of administrative controls.
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