Loukas Gets $266,000 to Help Healthcare Providers Reduce Cancer Deaths

Dr. Alexandra Loukas

Dr. Alexandra Loukas, an associate professor in the College of Education’s Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, has been awarded a $266,920 grant from the Cancer Prevention Institute of Texas. The funds will be used to teach healthcare providers how to use a new evidence-based electronic health records tool that can reduce patients’ tobacco use.

Dr. Shelley Summers Karn, a project manager working with Loukas, will be assisting with implementation of the grant.

“A system-wide change is needed that will make it easier for healthcare providers to regularly identify smokers and give treatment to tobacco users who are ready to quit,” said Loukas. “Medical professionals who have transitioned from paper records and who now use electronic health records (HER) are at the core of emerging health information technology infrastructure changes and are in a good position to improve the quality of care for their patients.

“The intervention for which we received funding is an electronic health records tobacco cessation template that conforms to U.S. Public Health Services Tobacco Cessation Guidelines. We’ll be approaching hospital system information officers and encouraging them to embed this template into their electronic health records system and we’ll also be offering ongoing education, online and in person, in the use of this new resource.”

"This project has the potential to reduce the prevalence of various tobacco-related cancers and, in turn, the number of tobacco-related deaths "

— Dr. Alexandra Loukas

According to Loukas, around 27,000 Texans are diagnosed each year with tobacco related cancers, and the number one cause of cancer deaths in Texas is lung cancer. Research shows that primary health care settings are ideal intervention sites and that the advice of a health care professional can more than double tobacco cessation rates.

Only around 13 percent of physicians report that they’ve referred smokers to appropriate treatments, though, and only 17 percent say that they’ve arranged for follow-up visits to address a patient’s tobacco use.

“The electronic template will make it simpler for providers to meet federally mandated meaningful-use-guidelines, accurately bill for insurance reimbursement, and counsel and prescribe the appropriate treatment,” said Loukas. “The tobacco cessation template will prompt health care providers to take advantage of intervention opportunities during every visit and record patients’ attempts to quit.”

Loukas and her team will document the adoption of the template and evaluate the impact of the intervention in a sample of Texas hospital systems.

“This project has the potential to reduce the prevalence of various tobacco-related cancers and, in turn, the number of tobacco-related deaths,” said Loukas.

—Kay Randall, University Communications, 512-232-3910