Use of Electronic Health Records to Support Smoking Cessation

Boyle R, Solberg L, Fiore M. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2011, Issue 12. Art. No.: CD008743. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD008743.pub2
This review assessed the effectiveness of electronic health record (EHR)-facilitated interventions on smoking cessation support actions by clinicians and on patient smoking cessation outcomes. Interventions included in the review could include any use of an EHR to improve smoking status documentation or cessation assistance for patients who use tobacco, either by direct action or by feedback of clinical performance measures. No meta-analysis was conducted due to the small number of studies. Results showed that while documentation of tobacco use and referral to cessation counseling appear to increase, patient smoking cessation was not demonstrated. The authors call for additional research to further understand the effect of EHRs on smoking treatment in healthcare settings.