VBR Smoking Cessation FAQ

A list of the most common questions regarding ASPIRE Value Based Reimbursement Smoking Cessation measures.

Measure Definitions

How does ASPIRE calculate performance for the ‘smoking status within 30 days prior to surgery’ measure?

How does ASPIRE calculate performance to determine the proportion of current smokers that have smoking treatment documented?

What is the measurement time period for 2023 VBR?

  • October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2024

Smoking Status Definitions

For Smoking Status Definitions, refer to the Smoking Tobacco Classification phenotype

How does ASPIRE determine smoking status for other tobacco products (vape/e-cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, etc.)?

  • Smokeless tobacco/chew and cannabis use without documentation to indicate current or former smoker is considered non-smoker
  • Documentation of vape/e-cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco use is considered ‘current smoker’

Smoking Treatment Definitions

What MPOG concepts are assessed for smoking treatment?

How does ASPIRE define ‘smoking treatment?’

Documentation of smoking cessation intervention including:

    • Counseling
    • Treatment
    • Referral for tobacco cessation counseling
    • Patient refusal or documentation suggesting ‘no interest in quitting’ or ‘patient declined’

What services for treatment are available for Michigan sites?

  • Patients can receive text message support from the Healthy Behaviors of Michigan (HBOM) hotline by visiting their website: https://www.hbomich.org/signup/ 
  • Patients and providers can contact the Michigan Tobacco Quitline: 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) or https://michigan.quitlogix.org/en-US/
  • Most hospitals also offer an internal tobacco cessation service

For more information and materials, please visit the Healthy Behaviors of Michigan website: https://www.hbomich.org/

For any inquiries please email