Evaluation of the Stop Smoking Wales NHS Dental Practice Incentive Scheme

In December 2014, Public Health Wales introduced a proof-of-concept incentive scheme, aiming to encourage National Health Service (NHS) dental practitioners in Wales to provide brief intervention for smoking cessation and increase referrals to Stop Smoking Wales (SSW). The scheme ran for 11 weeks. Practitioners were advised to only refer patients who agreed with the referral. Practices were reimbursed £7 for every referral sent to SSW. Eighty-three dental practices signed up to participate, equating to 18% of NHS sites across Wales. SSW received 308 referrals, of which 297 (96%) were considered new contacts. One hundred and fifty-eight individuals (51%) accepted an assessment. Of these, 48 actually attended (30%). Thirty-two individuals became treated smokers (attending both an assessment and treatment session). Of these, 22 became self-reported quitters; 19 of these were validated through carbon monoxide (CO) monitoring. The cost to receive individuals into SSW via the dental incentive scheme was approximately £98 per self-reported quitter. The scheme greatly increased the number of referrals to SSW from dentists, compared to previous records and so fulfilled its aims. Amendments to the process could improve cost-effectiveness of a similar scheme.