Fax Referrals, Academic Detailing, and Tobacco Quitline Use: A Randomized Trial

Sheffer MA, Baker TB, Fraser DL, Adsit RT, McAfee TA, Fiore MC. Am J Prev Med 2012;42(1):21–28.
This study examined the potential of enhanced "academic detailing” (on-site training, technical assistance, and performance feedback) in clinics to increase utilization of a fax-referral program to a telephone quitline. Participants were drawn from 49 primary care clinics in southeastern Wisconsin. Either Fax-to-quit-only (F2Q-Only) or Fax to Quit plus Enhanced Academic Detailing (F2Q-EAD) were administered. The average number of post-intervention referrals per clinician to the Wisconsin Tobacco Quitline was 5.6 times greater for the F2Q-EAD condition than for control (8.5 vs. 1.6, p=0.001). The authors concluded that enhanced academic detailing, which included on-site training, technical assistance, and performance feedback, increased the number of referrals over a fax referral program implemented without such enhanced academic detailing.