Is it true that asking about a patient's smoking status is one of the Meaningful Use questions?

Asking about a patient's smoking status is indeed one of the Meaningful Use measures established to improve healthcare quality and patient outcomes. Meaningful Use refers to a set of standards defined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) incentives for healthcare providers to use electronic health records (EHR) in ways that can help improve patient care. Among these measures, collecting information on smoking status is critical, as it is closely tied to preventive health and chronic disease management.

This information allows healthcare providers to assess risk factors, deliver targeted interventions, and document smoking cessation efforts, which can lead to better health outcomes for patients. The inclusion of smoking status questions in Meaningful Use requirements reflects the importance of tobacco use as a major public health issue. Therefore, it is accurate to say that asking about a patient’s smoking status is part of the Meaningful Use criteria.