Aetna's anti-smoking pilot program combines dentists, iPads

Aetna is developing a program that would pair dentists with specially designed iPads to help educate patients about the dangers of smoking.

The Hartford, Conn.-based insurer has announced a partnership with Columbia University to create a smoking cessation clinical decision support system (CDSS) that supports the U.S. Public Health Service’s “Five ‘A’s tobacco cessation guidelines – ask, advise, assess, assist and arrange.” The CDSS system would integrate a medical knowledge base, patient data and decision support technology to generate advice tailored to the specific patient.

National surveys indicate one out of every five deaths in the United States is caused by cigarette smoking.

“The study will help us gather input from general practice dentists to develop, refine and pilot test an innovative clinical decision support system – the Dental Tobacco Cessation I-Pad,” said David A. Albert, DDS, MPH, the principal investigator for the study, in a press release issued by Aetna. Albert, the director of the Division of Community Health at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine in New York City, will oversee a pilot program involving Aetna network dental offices in New York.

“The program is designed as an innovative interface between patients and dentists, and we anticipate that devices like the iPad can be used to break down barriers between clinicians and their patients,” Albert said. “We will evaluate if we are able to encourage and assist dentists to provide tobacco cessation advice and assistance for their patients who use tobacco products. Tobacco use poorly affects the mouth and teeth and the patient’s overall health. Helping patients to quit tobacco use is a goal that the U.S. Public Health Service encourages all dentists to adopt.”

According to Aetna, the two-phase project will begin with a rigorous test of the iPad, to determine how it could be best introduced into the daily workflow of a dental office, before being rolled out to five targeted offices. A manual of operations will be developed and updated during the study, officials said.

“Our work is designed to support not only dentists and their clinical staff, but also the well-being of their patients and our members,” said Mary Lee Conicella, Aetna’s chief dental officer. “Numerous investigations, along with Aetna’s own work in dental offices, provide evidence that many dentists engage in asking and advising about tobacco use. However, the remaining ‘A’s do not receive adequate attention in the clinical setting.”