Solving the Puzzle: Clinicians

Find resources dedicated to assisting clinicians in tobacco control efforts. Become more knowledgeable about tobacco control through educational materials, steps to integrate tobacco control into patient visits, and guidelines on reimbursement. 

For additional resources, please visit  Clinical Practice 

For state-specific resources, please visit State-Specific Information. 

For opportunities to network and collaborate with clinicians on tobacco control issues, please join the free  AAP Section on Nicotine and Tobacco Prevention and Treatment.

Trainings and CME 

These videos and websites may assist you and your staff in gaining more education in tobacco control or earning Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits. 

Videos 

• Creating a Smoke-free Househol​d  
• Motivational Interviewing​  
• Prevention and Adolescents​  
• Ready​ to Quit ​ 

Websites 

• AAP Richmond Center Learning Opportunities 
• Johns Hopkins University Global Tobacco Control 
• University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention 

Clinical References 

Find useful resources to assist in research or in formulating presentations. 

• AAP Tobacco Policy Statements 
  Find out where the Academy stands on specific tobacco control issues and get resources to help put the recommended actions surrounding those issues into practice. 
• Beliefs About the Health Effects of "Thirdhand" Smoke and Home Smoking Bans 
  This article, written by AAP Richmond Center researchers, discusses thirdhand tobacco smoke and how this impacts home smoking bans. 
• Clearing the Smoke: Assessing the Science Base for Tobacco Harm Reduction. National Academy of Medicine Report, 2001 
  This report looks at the types of products that could reduce harm from the effects of tobacco and reviews the available evidence for their impact on various forms of cancer and other major ailments. It also recommends approaches to governing these products and tracking their public health effects. 
• Public Health Service Guidelines Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence 2008 Update 
  This evidence-based, updated guideline provides specific recommendations regarding brief and intensive tobacco cessation interventions as well as system-level changes designed to promote the assessment and treatment of tobacco use. 
• Tobacco Smoke Exposure and Chronic Conditions of Childhood 
  This commentary from the July 2010 issue of Pediatrics discusses common childhood chronic illnesses that are exacerbated by tobacco smoke. Clinicians need to become advocates for their patients, and take a more proactive role in assisting parental quit attempts. 
• Surgeon General Reports on Tobacco 
  Topics in these reports cover different populations at risk for tobacco use, prevention and health effects. 

Systems Change Strategies 

There are a number of ways to integrate a true systems change. Listed below are resources that offer tips and strategies to incorporate a consistent way to address tobacco control during patient visits. 

• CEASE 
  The Clinical Effort Against Secondhand Smoke Exposure (CEASE) program was developed to help child health care clinicians adjust their office setting to address parental tobacco use in an Ask, Assist, Refer approach. Below are items that will help your practice learn how to implement the program, collect patient information, identify staff responsibilities and promote your cause. 

• Addressing Family Smoking in Child Health Care Settings 
  This article discusses the utilization of the CEASE program to implement evidence-based tobacco control practices with family members into pediatric office visits. 
• Systems Change: Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence, US Department of Health and Human Services  
  The 2008 Update to the Clinical Practice Guideline offers this evidenced-based guideline for clinicians to use when treating patients who use tobacco. 

Coding & Payment 

When a clinician spends time discussing tobacco with a patient or family, it is important to get paid for the time spent by coding correctly. Below are some tools that can help. 

• Coding and Payment Resources from the AAP 
  Coding and payment recommendations from experts at the Academy to help your practice get reimbursement for services related to counseling for tobacco use and exposure to SHS. 
• Reimbursement for Smoking Cessation Therapy 
  In this guide created by Physician Assisted Cessation Therapy (PACT), information is given to clinicians on how to obtain reimbursement for smoking cessation treatments and counseling. The guide also assists in navigating around coverage deficiencies. 
• The Power of Paperwork: How Philip Morris Neutralized the Medical Code for Secondhand Smoke 
  This article gives background to smoking cessation coding by taking a closer look at the code created in 1994 for smoking cessation therapy. The code became invalid as a result of a two million dollar campaign by Phillip Morris that included lobbying, Paperwork Reduction Act challenges, and the strong support for other, less comprehensive codes.