Core Measure 9
Record Smoking Status
Objective:
Record smoking status for patients 13 years old or older.
Measure:
More than 50 percent of all unique patients 13 years old or older seen by the eligible professional have smoking status recorded as structured data.
CMS Resources
The following resources are available to help you meet the Record Smoking Status meaningful use core measure:
- EHR Meaningful Use Specification Sheet for Eligible Professionals – Core Measure 9 of 15 [PDF - 122k]
Related CMS EHR Incentive Program Frequently Asked Questions
Lessons from the Field
"Our organization found it beneficial for a patient's smoking status to be recorded during the patient workup and flagged within the EHR for further review by the physician, who could discuss the issue with the patient as needed."
— Sarah Chouinard,MD, EHR Advisor and Chief Medical Officer, West Virginia Regional Health Information Technology Extension Center (WVRHITEC)
Implementers in the field identified an efficient process for recording smoking status while ensuring provider to patient discussions were pursued when necessary. During the patient workup, a nurse documents the patient's vitals and chief complaint as well as their tobacco status and body mass index (BMI). All tobacco and BMI data is then flagged in the EHR by applying blue font. The diagnosis of "Tobacco Use Disorder" or "Overweight" is also added to the problem list in blue font if that tobacco status is positive or if BMI is elevated. The blue font highlights these issues for the physician, alerting them to review the data and pursue tobacco or obesity counseling conversations during the patient appointment if necessary.
"We found that practices that have been collecting the smoking status of patients for years may still fall short of meeting meaningful use simply because of the smoking status entries available within their EHR. We encourage practices take advantage of the option of adding more smoking status choices to their EHR if that is what the practice prefers, but to also ensure all of the smoking status options required by meaningful use are included and utilized within their EHR."
—Angela Strain, Organizational Advancement Director, The Center for the Advancement of Health IT
Ensuring that the smoking status data is entered appropriately into an EHR is a key component to successfully meeting this meaningful use measure. Each practice must work with their vendor to guarantee that all six (6) of the required smoking status options (as outlined in the ONC Final Rule Certification Criteria 170.302(g) [PDF - 10MB]) are available for physicians to select. However, they should also confirm that there are no duplicative options that might cause inconsistent data entry or limited use of the required status options. Properly utilizing these six (6) required options allows for physicians to compare their care to others across their community, their state, and the nation as these options are also utilized with the Center for Disease Control's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
National Learning Consortium Resources
The following resources are examples of tools that are used in the field today for recording smoking status. These tools have been recommended by "boots-on-the-ground" professionals for use by others who have made the commitment to implement or upgrade to certified EHR systems.
Learn more about The National Learning Consortium.
Reference in this web site to any specific resources, tools, products, process, service, manufacturer, or company does not constitute its endorsement or recommendation by the U.S. Government or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
National Learning Consortium Resources | ||
---|---|---|
Resource Name | Description | Source |
Electronic Preventative Services Selector (ePSS) |
Tool designed to help primary care clinicians identify the screening, counseling, and preventive medication services that are appropriate for their patients. |
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) |
Integrating Tobacco Cessation Into Electronic Health Records |
Quick reference guide for integrating tobacco cessation into EHR systems. |
American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) |
Related CMS EHR Incentive Program Frequently Asked Questions
- #2883 - If an EP is unable to meet the measure of a meaningful use objective because it is outside of the scope of his or her practice, will the EP be excluded from meeting the measure of that objective?
- #2813 - What do the numerators and denominators mean in measures that are required to demonstrate meaningful use?
- #2765 - For EPs who see patients in both inpatient and outpatient settings, and where certified EHR technology is available at each location, should these EPs base their denominators for meaningful use objectives on the number of unique patients in only the outpatient setting or on the total number of unique patients from both settings?
- #3307 - How does an EP determine whether a patient has been "seen by the EP" in cases where the service rendered does not result in an actual interaction between the patient and the EP, but minimal consultative services such as just reading an EKG? Is a patient seen via telemedicine included in the denominator for measures that include patients "seen by the EP"?
- #3309 - When a patient is only seen by a member of the EP's clinical staff during the EHR reporting period and not by the EP themselves, do those patients count in the EP's denominator?
- #3065 - Should patient encounters in an ambulatory surgical center be included in the denominator for calculating that at least 50 percent or more of an EP's patient encounters during the reporting period occurred at practices/locations equipped with certified EHR technology?
- #3077 - If an EP sees a patient in a setting that does not have certified EHR technology but enters all of the patient’s information into certified EHR technology at another practice location, can the patient be counted in the numerators and denominators of meaningful use measures?
For additional questions around meaningful use, visit the CMS EHR Incentive Program Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).