Health Professionals
Under the Ministry of Health’s ABC approach, at every encounter with the health service, a patient should be asked if he/she is a smoker (A). If answering yes, there should be brief advice about the importance of stopping (B). Following the advice, assistance must be given with the attempt at cessation (C). All health workers should be able to incorporate the A and B into their practices since this requires very little time; However many will feel that they lack the time or the skills to support the quit attempt (C). In this case referral to a specialised cessation service, such as Quitline, is needed.
Surveys of ex-smokers show that many cease smoking without any professional assistance. However success rates are very low at around 2.5 – 5 %. With a success rate of 20%, those referred to Quitline are five times more likely to successfully quit smoking.
Quitline’s phone and online services can also be used to complement face to face cessation services. Research shows that the more services a persons uses, the greater their chances of successfully quitting smoking.
Free quit-smoking resources
A range of free quit smoking resources is available to all medical professionals. We encourage you to give all patients a copy of The Quit Book to support them on their journey to becoming non-smokers. The Beat the Smoking Addiction Flyer and Want to Quit Smoking? poster are other useful resources. Find out more about how to order these.
Referring to Quitline
All health professionals can refer patients to Quitline for cessation support. To do this, please complete this form and fax it to 04 4609879 or email it to referrals "at" quit.org.nz
All people referred will be contacted by a Quitline Advisor within 3 working days.
For further information, please call 04 460 9899 and ask for Business Support.
PHOs - Refer patients directly to Quitline using the Medtech system
GPs and other medical professionals can now refer patients directly to Quitline using the ManageMyHealth’ menu of the Medtech system. This offers a quick and effective way of ensuring your patient gets expert smoking cessation support. The referral form is available to all practices using Medtech32 version 19.14 or later
For information on how to refer to Quitline via your Medtech system please click here.
If you have any questions, please call 04 460 9899 and ask for Business Support.
