ECPs Can Help Patients with This Problem, After All

You can make a difference in this high-stakes problem.

Eyecare professionals are well-situated to influence patients to stop using tobacco, a new study suggests.

Stanley W. Hatch, an optometrist, recently presented his results in Anaheim, CA, at a press conference sponsored by the American Academy of Optometry, Healio reports.

His research involved a sample of 193 patients who were provided with counseling on stopping tobacco use. Of those patients, more than 14 percent stopped using tobacco.

Hatch’s conclusion: “It worked.”

Though it’s generally recommended that healthcare professionals counsel their patients on smoking cessations, not much information had been available on how well such counseling works when provided by eyecare professionals, according to Healio.

The results were actually the opposite of what Hatch expected. An earlier case control study he conducted with another sample group had suggested that such counseling was not effective at all, Healio reports.

Read more at Healio