CREATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN EHR QUIT SMOKING TOOL IN SAFETY NET CLINICS

Tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, especially among families living in poverty. This project will build, implement, evaluate and disseminate a Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) tool for the NextGen electronic health record system that will enable providers to more readily identify smokers and systematize the treatment and referral of smokers to California Smoker’s Helpline. The tool will include a bidirectional information referral system with the Helpline.  We will evaluate the effectiveness of this tool using a cluster randomized control trial design at 10 clinic sites. We will then disseminate the CPOE tool throughout the Community Health Center Network of Alameda County, which serves Alameda County’s lowest income residents.