UW Health Fox Valley Helps Patients Quit Smoking

If UW-CTRI (Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention) Outreach Specialist Roger Dier could rub his magic lamp and make all clinics in Northeast Wisconsin handle tobacco treatment like UW Health Fox Valley, the state smoking rate would likely decrease.

UW Health Fox Valley asks about smoking status as a vital sign, and at every visit attempts to treat patients who smoke or chew tobacco. Nurses ask the patient if they are ready to quit and also document involuntary smoke exposure. Doctors follow up with:

• Providing advice to quit
• Relating smoking to current health conditions
• Offering tips on quitting
• Prescribing medications such as the patch, gum, Zyban or Chantix

The doctors then have an option to refer them to the clinic health educator and counselor, Shawn Boogaard, M.Ed., who further assists patients with tobacco cessation.

Ms. Boogaard follows up with patients and helps them every step of the way throughout each quitting process. "I tell them, if this does not work, please come back. We will find a way to quit smoking. That is our job." Ms. Boogaard is an excellent example of the advantage of having a tobacco cessation "champion" at a clinic.

UW-CTRI works with clinics throughout the state in an effort to offer assistance to every patient who wants to quit smoking. Roger Dier has provided training, materials and technical assistance to UW Health Fox Valley, which has 7,000 patients; 23% smoke. Eighteen residents and four to six attending physicians handle more than 20,000 visits a year. More than 90% of patient visits are accurately charted for tobacco status, demonstrating a commitment to excellence.

Resident Jessica Johnston, MD has helped many patients quit with wit, passion and verve. She treated a 40-year-old man after his routine physical revealed lung damage from smoking. He was impressed that she could detect that he smoked from a routine exam. He listened when she told him he could recover from much of the damage. He quit.

Dr. Johnston said she looks at tobacco treatment as part of her job to help her patients be as healthy as possible. "You should never say you did not have time. You just did not prioritize. This is a priority." In fact, she enjoys relating cigarette damage to teens. "I tell them their teeth will stain."

Resident Drew Villamagna, MD agrees. He runs the Framingham calculator in his handheld data device to show patients their 10-year risk for coronary heart disease. That usually encourages patients to quit smoking. "If I have gotten one patient to quit, then as a family physician, I feel I have done the best I can do for that patient's preventative care."