Increased access to tobacco cessation through healthcare partnerships

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of death and disability in the United States, accounting for 445,000 deaths annually, the greatest burden of which falls on those with the lowest socioeconomic status. In an effort to reduce the impact of tobacco use and secondhand smoke, CDC responded to the US PHS Clinical Practice Guideline, Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence, with a mandate for all states to offer tobacco cessation quitlines. While these quitlines vary in services provided, most offer healthcare professionals a proactive referral system via facsimile (fax) machine. In fiscal year 2006-2007 ASHLine re-branded its proactive fax referral program, creating ASHLine QuitFax, and implemented a new outreach strategy (utilizing a pharmaceutical detailing model) designed to increase the number of referrals 100%. At the end of fiscal year 2006-2007 referrals were increased 95% over the preceding year. Now in its second year, ASHLine QuitFax continues to grow at 300% over the 2006-2007 fiscal year. This demonstrates increased patient access to quit tobacco services. Conducting a process evaluation enabled us to demonstrate how program activities fulfilled short-term objectives and what factors impacted outcomes. By focusing our efforts on service providers for targeted groups (low SES and ethnic groups disproportionately affected by tobacco), access to tobacco cessation programs for those in greatest need has increased dramatically. ASHLine QuitFax is a program which can be replicated in many states – impacting health outcomes for millions of Americans; improving health outcomes immediately and for decades to come.