In honor of the Great American Smokeout®, Great Plains QIN wants to highlight both North Dakota and South Dakota Quitlines, Healtcare providers can make referrals or patients and family members can access these tobacco treatment services.
In North Dakota approximately 97% of referrals to NDQuits come from Tobacco Treatment Specialists (TTS) through the NDQuits Cessation grantees. A TTS can assess an individual’s nicotine dependence level and provide effective, evidence-based interventions tailored to the individual. Two evidence-based interventions include using medications and behavioral counseling. When used together, an individual more than doubles the success rate.
The health system benefits from having an in-house TTS. The TTS provides tobacco and nicotine dependence treatment to patients, and may also educate other clinicians and serve as a resource for tobacco and nicotine dependence treatment. Last month, the North Dakota Tobacco Prevention and Control Program (TPCP) hosted facilitators from the Mayo Nicotine Dependence Center for a Tobacco Treatment Specialist (TTS) Training. Pharmacists, nurses, respiratory therapists, social workers, and behavioral health staff attended to enhance their knowledge about tobacco and nicotine dependence treatment and motivational interviewing.
The next TTS Training will be in April 2024. Contact Kara Backer, TPCP Nicotine Dependence Treatment Coordinator, at kbacker@nd.gov if you want more information.
South Dakota’s Tobacco Control Program website recently underwent some changes including a new website address www.quittobaccosd.com and the program has launched new media campaigns to promote quitting nicotine products. These campaigns can be found at QUIT SD. The website also includes educational resources, funding opportunities, healthcare provider information and much more. Currently, the web referral option for the phone coaching program is unavailable, but patients can get in touch with a QuitLine coach and enroll two different ways.
- By phone: 1-866-737-8487 (1-866-SD-QUITS)
- Or visit sdquitline.com to request a call
Providers can ensure their patients are enrolled and track their progress by having the patient sign a, Fax Referral Form, saying that a QuitLine Coach can contact them. From there, you can fax the form to the QuitLine: 1-605-322-3858. If your patient consents, the QuitLine can forward enrollment and participation information back to the provider.
If your organization wants to support The Great American Smokeout® The American Cancer Society has put together Great American Smokeout® Tools and Resources for use in workplaces, health systems and other places in your community.
As a care provider, helping patients to quit nicotine is one of the best things you can do. A contributing author of the 2020 U.S. Surgeon General’s smoking cessation report states “Cessation should be discussed with every patient that smokes at every visit. We need to urge our patients who smoke to quit in an unequivocally strong, personalized way, often linking it to the health issues that they’re addressing,” said Dr. Fiore.
For more information, contact Tobacco Cessation Coordinator, Kaitlyn Ashley at kashley@bhssc.org
Great Plains QIN has a suite of tools in our Tobacco Prevention section of the Chronic Disease Management Initiative to help with nicotine addiction. More tools include:
- Break the Chain of Tobacco/Nicotine Dependence Change Package
- Reduce Smoking and Improve Pain Management
Listen to our Podcast – Q-Tips For Your Ears!
The Great American Smokeout – Make a Plan to Quit Smoking: The American Cancer Society hosts the Great American Smokeout on the third Thursday of November every year. It is an opportunity for people who smoke or use smokeless tobacco to commit to healthy, nicotine-free lives. Take a few minutes to listen and learn more.