Doctor Advises Patient to Quit Smoking
2024-25 Edition
Why is it important for doctors to advise you to quit smoking?
Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Like many smokers, you may have tried to stop. You are more likely to stop smoking if your doctor discusses different options with you to help you quit.
What should doctors do to help you quit smoking?
Doctors at highly rated health plans should ask you if you smoke, tell you about ways to quit, and follow up with you regularly to help you quit smoking.
Talk with your doctor and health plan to find out about what other services are available. Many health plans offer additional support and resources for patients who want to quit smoking. These additional services may be educational materials (online and in print), classes or support groups, medicines like nicotine patches, or phone counseling.
What do the stars mean?
The scores show how well each health plan did at making sure patients 18 years of age and older who smoke or quit recently received information from their doctor about ways to quit smoking. A higher score means more patients got the right care at the right time.
The scores are based on information from a survey of a sample of at least 100 health plan members in 2023.
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The data source for data for the Report Cards is Quality Compass® 2024 and is used with the permission of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Quality Compass® 2024 includes Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) and Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) data. Any data display, analysis, interpretation, or conclusion based on these data is solely that of the authors. NCQA specifically disclaims responsibility for any such display, analysis, interpretation, or conclusion. Quality Compass and HEDIS are registered trademarks of NCQA. CAHPS® is a registered trademark of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
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