Health care administrators, insurers, managed care organizations, and purchasers of health plans.
A systems approach can promote the treatment of tobacco dependence. Specific strategies that achieve this goal include implementing a tobacco-user identification system and providing education, resources, and feedback.
Nationwide, medical care costs attributable to smoking (or smoking-related disease) have been estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to be more than $50 billion annually. In addition, the value of lost earnings and loss of productivity is estimated to be at least another $47 billion a year. |
Other important strategies include dedicating staff to provide tobacco dependence treatments and assessing the delivery of treatment in staff performance evaluations.
Insurers and managed care organizations play an essential role by including tobacco dependence treatment as a paid or covered service in health insurance packages and reimbursing clinicians for providing tobacco dependence services.
Success is enhanced by providing cessation interventions by multiple clinicians and in multiple treatment formats. Systems should commit to providing treatments that take advantage of multiple approaches.
Internet Citation:
Developing a Successful System-Wide Tobacco Cessation Program—Systems. U.S. Public Health Service. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/tobacco/systemsys.htm
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Tobacco Cessation Guideline Index
Department of Health and Human Services