Helping Patients Who Are Ready to Quit
As a healthcare provider, you likely know that smoking is the leading cause of preventable death. Tobacco leads to disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body. The majority of tobacco users say they want to quit, and nearly half try to quit each year. For patients who are ready to quit, you can be the motivation they need to become former smokers.
When you see patients, take these three steps to help them become tobacco free:
- Ask every patient at each encounter about his or her tobacco use and document status.
- Advise every tobacco user to quit with a clear, strong personalized message about the benefits of quitting.
- Refer patients who are ready or considering quitting tobacco.
Fax to Quit
The Fax to Quit Program allows healthcare professionals to refer tobacco-using individuals to PA Free Quitline services for expert, evidence-based and confidential coaching to become tobacco-free.
How Fax to Quit Works
- Conduct a brief intervention to determine the tobacco user’s readiness to quit tobacco.
- Fill out the Fax to Quit referral form to enroll the tobacco user in Quitline services.
- Fax the Referral Form to PA Free Quitline. Quitline staff will contact the tobacco user within 48 hours.
- Referral source will receive confirmation of contact and fax-back reports on patient progress (HIPAA-covered entities only).
You may also refer patients to the PA Free Quitline via Provider Web Referral (For patients without NRT contra-indications.)
Additional information, including forms and referral process training, may be found on the PA Department of Health website
Additional information about the PA Free Quitline can be found on the CDC Website and at QUITLOGIX
Additional Resources
- CDC: Diseases and conditions associated with smoking
- CDC: Help Your Patients Quit Smoking
- Printable resources from CDC.gov
- treatobacco.net by the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco
- Cancer Control P.L.A.N.E.T.
- North American Quitline Consortium (NAQC)
- Gov: Resources for Health Professionals
- FAQs for Health Care Providers
- QUITLOGIX e-Referral Program
- How to Talk to Patients about Tobacco (Video)
- Resources for: