Patients Express High Satisfaction With Pharmacist-led Telehealth Tobacco Cessation Services

Patients expressed higher satisfaction with pharmacist-led vs physician-led telehealth tobacco cessation services, although there was no statistically significant difference in abstinence rates between intervention groups. Researchers published their findings in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association.

“Previous studies regarding tobacco cessation services concluded that pharmacist interventions lead to higher or similar quit rates compared to usual care,” investigators said. “However, little is known about patient satisfaction with these services.”

Adult patients completed a 9-question survey that measured 30-day point prevalence abstinence and patient satisfaction 7 months after the patient’s first tobacco cessation visit with a pharmacist or primary care physician (PCP). Investigators also conducted a chart review to analyze prescribing patterns and time spent counseling.

The survey yielded a response rate of 38.8% (50/129) overall, representing 43.9% and 36.3% of patients in the pharmacist and PCP groups, respectively. Four out of 18 respondents in the pharmacist group reached 30-day point prevalence abstinence, compared to 3 of 32 patients in the PCP group (22.2% vs 9.4%, P=0.23).

Compared to PCP-led services, the pharmacist-led intervention was associated with significantly higher patient satisfaction with:

• discussion around medications used to quit smoking (100% vs 65.6%, P=0.0041);
• understanding how to properly use the medications (100% vs 62.5%, P=0.0020);
• identifying behavioral changes to assist with quitting (94.4% vs 65.6%, P=0.036); and
• frequent follow-up visits (83.3% vs 46.9%, P=0.016).

“Pharmacists spent more time counseling patients and were more likely to prescribe dual [nicotine replacement therapies] and prescription medications,” researchers said. “Pharmacists provide a more intensive service by spending more time counseling patients and providing more follow-ups and are more likely to diversify medications prescribed to quit smoking.”

Reference:
McDuffie AC, Varughese SJ, Duffy AR, et al. Pharmacist-led telehealth tobacco cessation services compared to usual care in a community health center. J Am Pharm Assoc. Published online July 14, 2022. doi:10.1016/j.japh.2022.07.004