On July 1st, England went smoke-free. With a ban on smoking in all public
places, more and more smokers are trying to kick the habit and turning to
their doctors for help and advice.
GP, Dr Neil Macey from Stowmarket Health Centre in Suffolk says, "We saw a big
flurry of patients wanting help to stop smoking in the build up to the smoking
ban, so much so that we had to extend our Smoking Cessation Clinics."
GPs using SystmOne can use a visual tool to show patients the very real benefits
to their health of giving up smoking. The 'Smoker Life Expectancy' tool gives
patients an indication of the long-term effects of continued tobacco consumption.
Dr Macey uses the SystmOne Smoker Life Expectancy tool a lot: "It is an incredibly powerful and sobering tool. It demonstrates graphically to the patient how much longer they'll live if they stop smoking. When patients see the cigarette disappear and realise how stopping smoking can make a difference to their lives, their jaws drop."
SystmOne GP is part of the core offering being rolled out across the NMEPfIT by the CSC Alliance.
