Evaluation of Electronic Portal Messaging and Embedded Asynchronous Care on Physician-Assisted Smoking Quit Attempts

Smoking, Tobacco

Smoking Quit Attempts, Quality Improvement, Asynchronous Care, Electronic Messaging

Among 10 PCPs, 200 adult smokers with an active patient portal who had been seen by a PCP within 12 months were randomly selected and randomly assigned to one of four conditions to compare the quit attempts of patients sent electronic outreach with and without asynchronous care link and to compare the quit attempts of patients who recieved the portal message from PCP or the health system.

The investigators compared the effects of four technology-based smoking cessation messaging strategies on quit attempts by smokers identified in the health system. Specifically, investigators used a fully crossed between-subjects 2 (link to survey on smoking cessation guide: yes/no) × 2 (message source: PCP-generated vs. health system-generated) experimental design to which participants were randomly assigned to one of four intervention groups using a computerized random number generator: * Group 1 was sent the message from their physician without a link to a survey; * Group 2 was sent the message from their physician with the link to the survey (which constitutes the asynchronous care); * Group 3 was sent the message from the health system without a link to the survey; and * Group 4 was sent the message from the health system with the link to the survey (which constitutes the asynchronous care). Electronic outreach was a message sent to patients via the patient portal. It encouraged a quit attempt; offered physician assistance; advised the patient on medication use to control cravings; and offered counseling support in the form of a Quitline. Patients in Groups 1 and 3 were invited to schedule an in-person appointment with their PCP if they wanted help. Patients in Groups 2 and 4 received the message with an embedded link to Tobacco Cessation Survey to receive PCP assistance asynchronously. If patients clicked through to access the survey, they answered 17 questions, confirming smoking status, reporting safety information for medication selection, describing prior quit attempts and sharing treatment preferences. The intervention was asynchronous because it did not involve direct, simultaneous interaction (e.g., face-to-face, chat, video conference) between the physician and the patient. After patient responses were submitted, they were stored and forwarded to their PCP. Physicians communicated the care plan and instructed patients via the portal message. If the plan included medication, a prescription was sent to the patient's EHR-documented preferred pharmacy without an in-person visit.

United States