ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND & PROBLEMS: Smoking cessation improves disease prognoses and decreases the risk of sudden death in patients with coronary artery disease. PURPOSE: This study was designed to increase the six-month smoking cessation rate to more than 45% for hospitalized patients with coronary artery disease. RESOLUTIONS: Data analysis found a current smoking cessation rate of zero percent. Strategies to raise this rate significantly included implementing a referral system, regulating case managers and follow-up procedures, providing smoking cessation guidelines, distributing patient education handouts, setting up an information system to facilitate smoking cessation case management, and implementing smoking cessation education programs for health professionals. RESULTS: The smoking cessation referral rate increased to 100% and the six-months smoking cessation rate rose to 50%. CONCLUSIONS: This project leveraged interdisciplinary cooperation to increase the rate of smoking cessation in hospitalized patients. It also introduced the unique function of case manager who is charged with systemically following up with patients to improve the effectiveness of smoking cessation programs.
