Optimizing Inpatient Nutritional Care in Electronic Health Records

Abstract

As electronic health records (EHRs) become increasingly prevalent in healthcare, more can be done to optimize its utilization to serve patients’ needs. One major opportunity to improve comes in the form of better integrating nutritional documentation into the clinical workflow through EHRs. Numerous research studies worldwide have shown the substantial effect that more thorough nutritional screening, documentation, and subsequent necessary interventions have on key patient outcomes, such as average hospital stay, average hospitalization cost, and mortality. The authors of this policy paper first explore the relevant literature associated with nutritional documentation as well as the impact and cost-effectiveness of related interventions. Then the authors proceed to suggest a detailed intervention strategy regarding EHR nutritional documentation that healthcare systems can first test and then utilize to continue meeting the triple aim of healthcare: improving the patient experience, improving population health, and reducing the per capita cost of healthcare.