September 13, 2022

NUTRITION POLICY UPDATES

White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health

The Biden administration will host the second White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health on September 28, 2022, livestreamed online. It will cover:

• Food access and affordability
• Integration of nutrition and health
• Consumer empowerment to access healthy choices
• Support for more physical activity
• Enhancement of nutrition and food security research

This conference is an important development for the nutrition field as it brings multistakeholder attention to the importance of nutrition in healthcare and our food system and will inform future nutrition policy changes and multistakeholder initiatives. We hope this conference will bring solutions to improve access to healthy food and, support investment in comprehensive and collaborative nutrition care, and bolster existing nutrition programs. You can read this additional commentary about the Conference’s importance. The Academy compiled input from members and submitted a comment letter about priorities for the conference to the White House for their consideration when developing the objectives.

The Task Force on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health released a report outlining policy recommendations and actions that align with the goals of the 2022 White House Conference. The report, titled “Ambitious, Actionable Recommendations to End Hunger, Advance Nutrition, and Improve Health in the United States,” was developed by this non-partisan, non-governmental group to inform the Conference. Multiple recommendations align closely with the goals of MQii and its partners, including: leveraging the role of hospitals to improve food and nutrition security for communities, expanding access to and coverage of medical nutrition therapy (MNT), and expanding telehealth flexibilities for MNT by RDNs. The White House also recently released a “Toolkit for Partner-Led Satellite Events” to empower other stakeholders to host additional events on their own to advance the goals of the conference, which you may use to inform a convening for your own care teams and/or Academy affiliate.

NUTRITION RESEARCH

We are sharing several recent publications and blogs relevant to malnutrition, nutrition care processes, and quality improvement:

• “ Standardizing Malnutrition Benchmarking Programs to Support Effective Quality Improvement Efforts,” in Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (co-authored by a member of the MQii Advisory Committee and a member of the MQii Learning Collaborative)
• “ Increased Emergency Department Utilization and Costs for Medicare Cancer Patients with Malnutrition Diagnoses,” in Journal of Nutrition, Health, and Aging (including 1 author from the MQii leadership team)
• “ Prevalence Of Hospital-Acquired Malnutrition and Modifiable Determinants of Nutritional Deterioration During Inpatient Admissions: A Systematic Review of the Evidence,” in Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics
• “ Undernutrition is Associated With Mortality, Exacerbation, and Poorer Quality of Life in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies,” in Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
• “ Effectiveness of Dietary Counseling with or Without Nutrition Supplementation in Hospitalized Patients Who are Malnourished or at Risk of Malnutrition: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” in Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition

NUTRITION IN THE NEWS

GMCS Selected as Key Rural Health Measure

In addition to its inclusion in the Hospital IQR Program, the GMCS was included in the National Quality Forum’s (NQF's) list of “Key Measures for Improving Health Outcomes for Rural Populations” in its recently published report, “2022 Key Rural Measures: An Updated List of Measures to Advance Rural Health Priorities.” This indicates the GMCS is a best-available, scientifically valid measure to address conditions and topics important to rural patients. Because NQF suggests these key rural measures can be used by stakeholders to guide performance and quality improvement efforts in rural areas, its inclusion indicates the opportunity for using the GMCS to improve care for these underserved and vulnerable populations.

New Nutrition-Focused CME Courses

The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) released its new continuing medical education (CME) course in partnership with the AARP Foundation, titled “Screen & Intervene: Addressing Food Insecurity Among Older Adults.” The course is designed to guide healthcare providers and other stakeholders in how to identify and address food insecurity. It also highlights the MQii-developed Improvement Activity available for reporting in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System. This free CME course is now available for online registration and we encourage you to share with your physician colleagues.

TIRR Memorial Hermann also released its CME course, “The Missing Factor of Quality Outcomes: Managing Nutrition Risk.” Instructors will discuss the “triple threat” of malnutrition, frailty, and food insecurity and examine validated tools to facilitate early identification and treatment. The course will take place on September 20 at 10 AM ET, and the recording will be shared for individuals to take the course in their own time.

LEARNING COLLABORATIVE PARTICIPANT RESOURCES

Congratulations to Members

Congratulations to Learning Collaborative member Jennifer Wills-Gallagher, MPPA, RD, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for being selected to serve as a voting member on the 2022–2023 Measure Application Partnership Hospital Workgroup. The workgroup was convened by NQF on behalf of CMS to provide input related to selection and coordination of measures for inpatient acute, outpatient, cancer, and psychiatric hospitals. Her participation will bring valuable clinical nutrition representation to conversations about coordination of hospital quality measures.

NFPE: Putting It All Together

Did you know that a medical penlight can help to assess for signs and symptoms of micronutrient deficiencies during a nutrition focused physical exam (NFPE)? The medical penlight is used to evaluate:

• The eyes by assessing the sclera and conjunctiva
• The nasal labial folds by assessing the skin around the nose
• The oral cavity by assessing the lips, gums, tongue, oral mucosa, and teeth

To learn more about the Academy’s Live Virtual NFPE Hands-on Training Workshops, visit www.eatrightpro.org/nfpe or email [email protected]. You may also consider signing up for the pre-FNCE NFPE workshop. All workshop participants will receive a penlight and use it during your training.

You may also enroll to participate in “Common Challenges Conducting NFPE: Focus on the Elderly” to enhance your knowledge about how to successfully perform NFPE in the elderly. This free course will provide the latest evidence about malnutrition in elderly patients and provide guidance on overcoming challenges to performing an NFPE in this population.