Green Bay Physician, Former Smoker, Helps Patients Quit

Dr. Pierce Sherrill of Aurora Bay Care Hospital in Green Bay knows how hard it is for his patients to quit smoking. After all, he tried “about three dozen times” before he was able to quit.

“Quitting is not fun,” he said. “I’ve been there. It helps me connect with smokers, though. Every smoker is well equipped with denial. But I’ve watched too many people die.”

So when he can smell smoke on a patient, he likes to look down their throat and quip, “Wow, you’ve been smoking a long time.” That usually grabs their attention. Sherrill asks every patient about smoking status as a vital sign at every visit. If the patient smokes or chews tobacco, he conducts a brief intervention.

“In 30 seconds, I tell them three things,” he said. “I tell them why smoking is bad. I tell them, ‘Call the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line, they’re very sharp people who can help you quit.’ Then I discuss medications that can help them quit.” Sherrill said he bases his interventions on the U.S. Public Health Clinical Practice Guideline: Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence.

He also says it’s valuable to partner with the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (UW-CTRI) because they provide evidence-based strategies, Quit Line materials and training for healthcare providers. “Time is always short, but interventions can take 30 seconds,” Sherrill said. “There is no other intervention you can make with your patients that carries so much benefit for zero cost. The savings – both direct and indirect – are astounding.”

Dr. Sherrill, left, helps a patient understand how best to quit smoking.

Research supports his assertion. According to a recent study by Leif Associates, Inc., a healthcare actuarial consulting firm, investment in smoking cessation leads to improved health outcomes, lower healthcare costs and more affordable health insurance premiums. Smokers average 31 percent higher healthcare costs than nonsmokers. If a health plan had no smokers, estimated savings would be approximately $1.3 million per year per 10,000 smokers.

As part of its smoking cessation initiative, Aurora paperwork cues physicians to ask about smoking status and offers financial incentives to physicians who identify and treat tobacco addiction. Sherrill reminds his co-workers that they can save lives in a matter of seconds.