At the Pill Box in Dallas, OR on April 29th, 2021, Dr. Joe King alumnus of Oregon State University College of Pharmacy Class of 2012 was the first pharmacist to assess, prescribe and properly bill Oregon Medicaid for provision of tobacco cessation services. Joe followed the protocols as described in the OSU College of Pharmacy Continuing Education tobacco cessation course which was designed in collaboration with the Oregon Health Authority’s Department of Public Health. In an interview, he stated that he extended the tobacco cessation service to a patient of the Pill Box that wanted to quit but did not have a primary care doctor. This patient had tried a tobacco cessation therapy in the past but due to lack of primary care and follow-up, he was unsuccesful. Joe said he sees this patient often and will be able to check-in with him and monitor his progress periodically over the next few weeks. As per Oregon’s protocol, the patient is referred to the Oregon Tobacco Quit Line for additional counseling resources.
Joe is the first of many community-based pharmacists that will be able to offer tobacco cessation services via the Patient Care Pathway developed by the Oregon Board of Pharmacy. OSU College of Pharmacy’s Office of Continuing Education designed and built the state-sponsored course to support pharmacist endeavors in this area. Oregon pharmacists can gain free access to this course through Oregon Health Authority sponsored seats. Email pharmacyce@oregonstate.edu for your access code today!