Real meaningful use

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin are helping practicing physicians and other health professionals use electronic health records to wean smokers off tobacco. That's important because UT's MD Anderson Cancer Center says patients are 30 times more likely to enroll in tobacco cessation counseling if a clinician refers them than if they merely receive information about services. Researchers developed the e-tobacco protocol to improve patient referrals to the state-funded Texas Tobacco Quitline, a free, confidential, and 24-hour, 7-day-a-week service. It offers three to five phone counseling sessions and two weeks of nicotine replacement therapy to those referred by a physician or other health professional.