The Multi-State Collaborative for Health Systems Change is a collaborative of organizations and individuals working within our states and nationally to support changes in healthcare systems to reduce tobacco use. Working as a community of practice, we seek to share knowledge, document emerging and promising practices, build the evidence base through leading-edge research, and advocate for changes needed in policies that serve as barriers to effective change at the state or healthcare delivery level.

 Policy Brief Released

"Addressing Tobacco Use Through Healthcare Systems: A Real-World Example of How to Reduce Smoking Rates, Improve Patient Health and Lower Costs" is now available. This brief, a joint effort of MSC and Partnership for Prevention, describes the real-world impact of systems interventions on increasing rates of smoker identification and intervention, reducations in smoking prevalence, and improved health outcomes. It ends with a call to action that encourages adoption of systems interventions, particularly those that integrate state quitlines into electronic health records.

Recent Publications on Health Systems Interventions

We are pleased to report the publication of two papers describing important advances in health systems work. The first,The Effect of Systematic Clinical Interventions with Cigarette Smokers on Quit Status and the Rates of Smoking-Related Primary Care Office Visits, is an analysis of the impact of a systems intervention at a health care delivery system. The article demonstrates a significant decrease in smoking-related office visits for patients at sites implementing the intervention. The article is available by clicking here.

The second, Integrating Tobacco Cessation Quitlines Into Health Care: Massachusetts, 2002-2011, describes the successful integration of the MA quitline into health care systems, including the use of electronic referral and lessons learned that may impact quitline sustainability. The article is available by clicking here.