Provider satisfaction with an inpatient tobacco treatment program: results from an inpatient provider survey

Abstract

Background

Hospitalization offers an optimal environment for ensuring that patients receive evidence-based treatment. An inpatient tobacco treatment program can deliver interventions broadly, but minimal research has examined the impacts of a consult program on inpatient providers. The Nicotine Dependence Program at the University of North Carolina has provided an inpatient tobacco treatment consult service since 2010.

Objective

The program sought feedback from inpatient providers to examine factors that prompted tobacco treatment consult orders, the impact on provider counseling behavior, provider satisfaction, and suggested program improvements.

Design

Providers who had ordered a tobacco treatment consult received an online anonymous survey.

Setting

The University of North Carolina Hospital is an academic medical facility with 803 beds and over 37,000 inpatient admissions annually from all 100 counties in North Carolina. Approximately 20% of these inpatients report current use of any tobacco product.

Patients/participants

Medical providers who ordered inpatient tobacco treatment consults from July 2012 to June 2013 (n=265) received the survey, with 118 providers responding (44.5% response rate).

Results

Almost all providers reported being satisfied with the consult program and believed it was effective. Key factors in provider satisfaction included ease of accessing the service, saving provider time, and offering patients evidence-based tobacco use treatment. The consult program increased the likelihood of providers prescribing tobacco cessation medications at discharge, as well as following up at post-discharge appointments.

Conclusion

This is some of the first research to show provider satisfaction, program usage, and outcomes with an inpatient tobacco treatment program and demonstrates the important impact of implementing tobacco treatment services within hospitals.

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Keywords:

• provider satisfaction
• tobacco
• tobacco treatment counseling
• inpatient
• hospital
• smoking
• smoking cessation

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the many hospital staff and providers who support this program, Mrudu Herbert, MD, MPH for her assistance with literature review, and Sara Harwood, MSW, MPH for her assistance with the development of the provider survey.

This work was an unfunded project of the UNC NDP. The UNC NDP programs are funded by the UNC Department of Family Medicine, UNC Health Care, and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. A 2-year Pfizer grant helped fund the initial 2 years of NDP’s inpatient consult team.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.