Document Type

Research Project

Publication Date

7-2016

Abstract

The passing of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) has created a growing push for healthcare organizations to no longer use paper based records and convert to an Electronic Health Record (EHR). Along with the adoption of an EHR comes a necessary change for ancillary services like nutrition and dietetic services because it affects patient care as well. In order to maintain a professional standard in patient healthcare as other health disciplines have done, the development of nutrition informatics model has become necessary. Nutrition informatics will prove to be a necessary addition to the developing field of healthcare informatics. The training of registered dieticians and nutrition technicians in using information technology along with their knowledge and expertise is what will improve data accuracy, patient care, and quality. The development of a standardized vocabulary will also attribute to the success of developing nutrition informatics along with the willingness to embrace and develop information technology skills necessary to navigate electronic applications and tools. Although skill levels and change obstacles will have to be accessed, the overall findings reveal that dieticians and nutritionist are not very knowledgeable in the area of nutrition informatics but are willing to embrace it through education and training.

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