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The Dish provides a quarterly update to participating sites enrolled in the MQii Learning Collaborative.
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AT A GLANCE
- Join 1 or more of the malnutrition-focused events at FNCE next month
- Check our website next month for the new page addressing the malnutrition-focused Improvement Activity expected to be included in the forthcoming Quality Payment Program final rule
- Share your progress or reach out with any questions to your MQii Point of Contact. Please also let us know about any transitions in leadership, requested topics for future events, or additional events of interest to share with other members
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SPOTLIGHT: EVENTS OF INTEREST AT FNCE 2021
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ annual Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE) will be held virtually from October 16–19, 2021, and will include multiple presentations from clinicians who have used their nutrition expertise and leadership skills to improve the quality of malnutrition care for patients in their facilities. Below are some of these relevant events:
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WHAT'S AROUND THE CORNER?
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Please check the MQii Learning Collaborative Calendar to see a schedule of upcoming events with corresponding registration links. You can access member-only content, including webinar recordings and slides, on the MQii Member Portal. The login information is: Username: MQii Password: MQiiLC2018!
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Malnutrition Awareness Events
We encourage you to explore 2 annual malnutrition awareness events:
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Consider opportunities to share your MQii project and findings!
The following list outlines several meetings and conferences that may be of interest to Learning Collaborative members in the coming months. We encourage you to look at the event websites, review submission criteria, and consider sharing your research with these various audiences. Please reach out with any questions or for assistance in pulling together submission materials. You may also view additional upcoming external events (such as conferences and webinars) on our new MQii Learning Collaborative Calendar.
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NUTRITION POLICY UPDATES
NQF Endorsement of Malnutrition Composite Measure
As shared in the June Dish, we are pleased to have received endorsement from the National Quality Forum for the Global Malnutrition Composite Score (“composite measure”). Stewarded by the Academy and developed by Avalere, the composite measure was endorsed unanimously in June by the National Quality Forum’s Consensus Standards Approval Committee (CSAC). Endorsement indicates a measure is “best in class” and brings the measure 1 step closer to CMS program adoption. The CSAC voting results are available now for review. Refer to this Insight to read more about the development of the composite measure.
Academy's Advocacy for Nutrition Security
Academy President Kevin Sauer recently spoke on the organization’s policy priorities during a briefing for congressional staffers on older adult nutrition security titled, “Older Adult Nutrition Security: Next Steps for Congress.” (This presentation also included presentations from Defeat Malnutrition Today and ASPEN.) He addressed the impact of COVID-19 on nutrition security in older adults and the connection between nutrition security and chronic disease. He also highlighted the importance of medical nutrition therapy for improving patient health and the necessary passage of the Medical Nutrition Therapy Act to expand opportunities for dietitians and address a major gap in care. A recording is available at the link above. As we know, malnutrition identification can also indicate a need for screening for underlying food insecurity—which may be contributing to malnutrition. Consistent screening and assessment for malnutrition can help identify food security concerns and connect individuals to resources to help address any nutrition access barriers identified.
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES OF INTEREST
Food Insecurity and Malnutrition Toolkits
Defeat Malnutrition Today and Women in Government recently published a toolkit to provide information on malnutrition and how to communicate to state policymakers about the impact of malnutrition on the older adult population. Titled, “Advancing Policies for Quality Malnutrition Care in Older Adults: A Toolkit for Constituents and Driving Change,” the toolkit includes background information describing malnutrition, a review of what policy changes can help address malnutrition, examples of states that are taking action, and instructions for how readers can inform their state policymakers to do the same. This toolkit includes sample malnutrition and food insecurity screening tools (see Appendix I) that can be used to effectively screen for these conditions. This sample tool was developed and tested by the Ohio Malnutrition Working Group; the publication describing testing of the tool is listed in the Nutrition Research section below. Learning Collaborative members as well as other MQii stakeholders can adapt the entire toolkit, including this screening tool, for use in other states. These organizations also developed a toolkit for state legislators, which may be useful for your advocacy efforts.
Similarly, the MQii Leadership Team is in the process of developing a new webpage and corresponding clinical decision-making tool regarding screening for both malnutrition and food insecurity to put on our website next month. This information corresponds with the new Improvement Activity focused on malnutrition included in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System in the proposed CY 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. It is intended to support all clinicians to better screen for and treat these conditions simultaneously to improve patient health.
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MALNUTRITION RESEARCH
Several publications focused on malnutrition and quality improvement have been released over the past few months. Those relevant to the nutrition care process and quality improvement have been added to the Malnutrition Evidence Library on our website for your easy reference:
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LEARNING COLLABORATIVE MEMBER UPDATES
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Nominees for National Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality
We are pleased to share that long-time Learning Collaborative member Rajesh Kumari and MQii collaborator Kelly Tappenden have been nominated by the Academy for the National Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality. The council helps determine the most important questions for AHRQ's research to address to improve the quality, outcomes, and cost-effectiveness of clinical practice in the US. MQii leaders recommended their nominations based on their leadership and expertise in malnutrition-focused research and quality improvement.
Raj is currently the clinical nutrition manager of RWJ Barnabas Health in Newark, NJ. Her past quality improvement work has been featured in a FNCE presentation, publication in Nutrition, and FNCE video. Kelly is a professor and leads the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has written and presented about malnutrition quality improvement for many years—including in this seminal commentary in JAND, MQii webinar, and publication in Clinical Nutrition. Both nominees have presented, written, and held leadership roles in many other areas of nutrition throughout their careers. If selected, their 3-year terms would begin in Spring 2022. We wish the best to Raj and Kelly as they are considered to join this prestigious group!
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NFPE: Putting It All Together
To perform a complete nutrition assessment, a dietitian needs to evaluate a patient’s:
- Client history
- Food and nutrition-related history
- Anthropometric measurements
- Biochemical data and medical tests/procedures
- NFPE findings
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