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Freedom From Smoking® is cutting edge. Freedom From Smoking® or FFS conforms to the recently identified smoking-cessation counseling core measure of the hospital accreditation group known as Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). JCAHO recognized FFS for its quality of care for preventing acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and pneumonia. Additionally, FFS meets the criteria for intensive tobacco cessation counseling covered by the latest Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). CMS is the only authority on healthcare reimbursement standards for the United States healthcare insurance industry and CMS sets the national standards for healthcare insurance billing rates. Having CMS recognize FFS as a useful tool means that you can present FFS to your healthcare insurance company for potential decrease in premium costs.
The FFS program does not begin with quitting. The FFS program takes participants through several sessions first, ensuring that solid information about preparing to quit is given before Quit Day - the day participants choose to quit. This clinic program is developed based on education and behavior modification principles found in the counseling and helping services professions. The clinic program is based on the premise that smoking is a learned habit with biological addiction, and quitting is a process during which individuals must consciously unlearn the automatic behavior of smoking and substitute new health alternatives. During the clinic sessions, different techniques are introduced based on principles and methods that help the individual gain control over his/her behavior. Our process offers a systematic approach to quitting which helps quitting be a less stressful experience followed by long term success.
Stages of Change are also important to the FFS program. Research finds that among people who use tobacco 40% are not ready to quit, 40% are considering quitting, and 20% are ready to quit. Therefore part of the first sessions in the FFS program address the stages of precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination. While the FFS program talks about the various stages of change, its focus is on how to quit smoking and maintain abstinence.
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