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The vision of the AUCH Tobacco Cessation program is to
eliminate barriers in accessing tobacco control resources.
Barriers such as low income level, lack of health insurance
coverage, and ethnic minority status are especially evident in
the populations served by Association for Utah Community Health
(AUCH) member community health centers.
This
program is designed to help those patients who are uninsured and
traditionally may have limited access to tobacco cessation
programs and who receive their primary healthcare from one of
Utah’s Community Health Centers (CHCs).
How the Program Works
Utah Tobacco QuitLine
Pharmacotherapy Guidelines
Role of CHC Providers
Insurance Coverage & Reimbursement
How
the Program Works
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A patient gets enrolled by visiting a community health
center and discussing quitting tobacco with the health
care provider.
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A health education or other qualified staff member will
review the AUCH Tobacco Cessation program and the link between the
prescription medication and counseling provided by Utah
Tobacco Quit Line with the patient.
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The provider
or another CHC staff member will give the patient a form to complete
requesting counseling. The form must be legibly
completed and signed.
Utah QuitLine Counseling Form -
English
Utah QuitLine Counseling Form -
Spanish
You will need to customize these Word Docs by adding in
your clinic information.
To download the form to your PC just right click the
link and go to Save Target As.
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A staff member will then fax the form directly to Utah
Tobacco Quit Line at
800-483-3114.
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The
provider will determine which
smoking cessation medication will be safest and most
effective for the patient and he/she
will be given a prescription before leaving
the clinic. They can fill it either at the clinic’s
in-house pharmacy or at the clinic’s designated Smith’s
contract pharmacy.
Important Note! Prescribing
providers at Smith's contract pharmacy locations: Please
remember to write AUCH TCP or AUCH ZYBAN on the
prescription or your patient will not be able to fill
the smoking cessation medication prescription free of
charge!
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There is
absolutely no cost to the uninsured CHC patient to fill
the smoking cessation prescription. Many insurance companies are
covering smoking cessation medications.
Insured patients, (commercial carrier, Medicaid,
Medicare, PCN) are not eligible for the free medication.
These patients can receive the smoking cessation
medication at the 340B price if it turns out they
are underinsured for it.
Any person, uninsured
or not, can receive free counseling through Utah Tobacco
Quit Line.
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Utah Tobacco Quit
Line
Once the
referral is filled out, signed, and faxed, the Quit Line
will make at least eight attempts to reach the patient
starting within one business day of the referral.
The Quit
Line has multi-language capacity. A Spanish speaking
patient will need to complete the Spanish referral form
which will be faxed to Utah Quit Line. A Spanish
speaking counselor will then contact that patient.
The Quit Line
provides FREE cessation
services:
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Telephone
Counseling from a qualified counselor, including
multiple sessions if desired by the client.
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A personal
plan for quitting, developed by you and your counselor.
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Quit Kits: A
quit kit to walk you through the quitting process step
by step, worry stones, and tobacco alternatives such as
gum. |
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Referrals to
QuitNet and a connection to resources such as health
plans or programs within your area.
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Nicotine
Replacement Therapy if eligible and appropriate after an
assessment of what you need to quit using tobacco.
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Pharmacotherapy
Guidelines
Chantix® is new
medication targeted specifically toward smoking cessation and
has been proven very effective in blocking the pleasure
receptors stimulated by tobacco. Zyban® and Wellbutrin®
are both brand names for the generic drug, bupropion
hydrochloride.
While bupropion is
not for everyone, it does have the advantage of lessening the
discomforts associated with nicotine withdrawal. This can make
cessation much more manageable for those people who haven't been
able to successfully quit smoking using other methods.
For in
depth information about
Zyban®
from a chemical/pharmacological
perspective please click HERE.
For in
depth information about
Chantix®
from a chemical/pharmacological
perspective please click HERE.
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The patient
will receive an original prescription plus two
additional refills.
(In-house CHC pharmacies track
the dispensing of each 30 day supply of smoking
cessation medication and submit a dispensing report
monthly or quarterly to receive reimbursement from the AUCH Tobacco Cessation program.)
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After the
refills are used, the patient should return to the clinic
where he/she will be re-evaluated. If the treatment was
not successful, the patient is welcome to return to try
the treatment again 9 months from the last day of the 12
week treatment period. In the case of Chantix®, if the
patient is doing well and it is determined that
treatment should be continued to ensure success, the
program allows up to a 24 week treatment.
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Important
Note: The AUCH Tobacco Cessation Program is strictly
for tobacco cessation attempts. Smith's
pharmacies have been alerted to flag any prescription
written under the Zyban program that supplies the
patient beyond 90 days, except in the case of Chantix®,
which can be supplied for up to 180 days. If the patient is in need of free anti-depressant medication
there are affordable prices on generic equivalents under
the 340B program for established community health center
patients.
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If a patient
is unable to be compliant and can't pick up their Zyban,
Wellbutrin, or Bupropion refills in time and has
interrupted continuous treatment the clinic
will need to take note of when the patient will be
eligible again so they can make another quit attempt.
With Chantix®, the patient will be encouraged to start
up treatment again as soon as possible.
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The patient
can still use Quit Line and Quit Net in between quit
attempts as well as during their quitting effort.
They can also receive free Nicotine Replacement Therapy
items from Quit Line. Nicotine patches are also
available at no charge to uninsured patients.
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The Role of our CHC
Providers
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The majority
of smokers see a health care provider each year.
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Quite often
the effects of tobacco use are related to the condition
you are treating! |
Advice from
doctors helps smokers quit:
Even when doctors provide brief simple advice about
quitting smoking this increases the likelihood that a
smoker will successfully quit and remain a nonsmoker 12
months later. More intensive advice may result in
slightly higher rates of quitting.
To access an excellent article from the American Academy
of Family Physicians on smoking cessation techniques for
the physician click
here.
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Coverage & reimbursement
New Medicare Information
MM5878 – Smoking and Tobacco Use Cessation Counseling Billing
Code Update to Medicare
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM5878.pdf
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