A Look at Health Care Management and Nutrition
Written by:
Appalachian State University
• Jul 15, 2024
The medical community has long understood that health care and nutrition work hand in hand. A proper diet can prevent diseases; support development; and, in some cases, even enhance life-saving medical treatments. Despite these advantages, it can be difficult for health care organizations to integrate nutrition science into their daily operations.
The U.S. health care system faces numerous challenges that may prevent providers from putting a larger focus on nutrition. For example, many physicians don’t receive formal training on the subject. Additionally, a significant portion of the patient population doesn’t have access to nutritional food choices in the first place.
However, with the proper training and education, health care managers can help their organizations overcome these barriers and bring holistic well-being to everyone they serve.
What Is Nutrition?
To understand how health care and nutrition fit together, understanding what nutrition is, beyond the study of food, is important. More specifically, nutrition is the study of how foods, drinks, supplements and other consumables interact with the body on a molecular level.
Molecular components of food, such as carbohydrates, proteins and lipids, all play important roles in the body’s essential functions. Nutrition professionals use their knowledge of these components to help people:
- Understand how nutrition affects their overall well-being
- Recognize gaps and deficiencies in their diets
- Create sustainable nutrition plans based on their age, physical activity and other factors
- Track their progress and meet their goals
Similar to nurses and doctors, nutritionists, dietitians and other nutrition professionals often need a license to practice. Licensing practices ensure consistency and integrity in the industry. They also help the general public approach nutrition specialists with a degree of confidence in their abilities.
How Health Care and Nutrition Intersect
For many people, nutrition services are crucial to living a healthy lifestyle. However, nutrition also has many clinical and supportive applications in the health care industry.
Nutrition and Disease Prevention
In 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that almost 970,000 Americans died from strokes, diabetes and heart disease. These conditions, collectively known as cardiometabolic diseases, are among the leading causes of death in the United States.
According to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 20% of cases of cardiometabolic disease are the result of poor nutrition. An overabundance of sodium and saturated fats in the diet can increase the risk of contracting a cardiometabolic disease.
Though cardiometabolic diseases primarily damage the heart and circulatory system, they can also affect the liver, kidneys and nervous system. This means that surgeries and other treatments are often invasive and risky. Early detection and adherence to a heart-healthy or physician-prescribed diet can help people avoid these outcomes.
Nutrition and Disease Management
Nutrition doesn’t just play a role in disease prevention. Proper nutrition can also help people cope with existing health conditions, as well. While this includes cardiometabolic diseases and other diet-related conditions, it also includes conditions that aren’t always related to diet, such as cancer.
According to a research review published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine, up to 80% of people with cancer experience malnourishment. This can be the result of the disease itself, treatments such as chemotherapy or a combination of both.
While malnourishment can adversely affect anyone, people experiencing it while battling cancer are at risk for:
- Infections and treatment-related complications
- Delayed wound healing
- Loss of muscle mass and function
- Poor response to treatment
Because of these risks, many patients undergo medical nutrition therapy (MNT) to improve their quality of life and increase their chances of survival.
MNT is a medically informed diet that can help people manage symptoms, cope with harsh treatments and treat conditions. Prescribed for everything from diabetes to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), MNT is one of the most important examples of the relationship between health care and nutrition.
For people with cancer, MNT often includes taking vitamins and mineral supplements or eating a protein- and calorie-rich diet. However, a team of nutrition and medical professionals must carefully monitor and adjust patients’ diets.
Health Care and Life Stage Nutrition
As people age, their medical needs change. Pediatricians often check infants for signs of developmental issues. Geriatricians, doctors who specialize in senior care, typically keep an eye out for cognitive decline, joint problems and other issues associated with aging.
However, at every life stage, nutrition is often crucial to holistic well-being:
- Infants often need vitamin D, iron, zinc and calcium for physical and cognitive development.
- School-aged children and teens typically need a well-rounded diet of grains, fruits, vegetables and protein-rich foods.
- Adults may need to start monitoring their cholesterol and blood pressure more closely and make changes to their diets to avoid chronic heart disease.
- Seniors frequently lose muscle mass and bone density and may need to supplement their diets with more protein and calcium.
Health care providers who focus on specific populations must often keep these factors in mind as they assess their patients and anticipate potential issues. Even if patients don’t require medical nutrition therapy, following age-appropriate nutrition guidelines can lead to an increase in quality of life.
Barriers to Integrating Health Care and Nutrition Services and How Health Care Managers Can Help
Years of research have provided plenty of evidence supporting the integration of health care and nutrition services. However, given the prevalence of diet-related chronic illnesses, there seems to be a serious gap in how that information is communicated and applied.
Everyone in the medical community can play a part in closing the gap, but health care managers are often positioned to take the lead.
Provider Education
In 2021, Medicine in Motion (MM), a nonprofit focused on combating burnout in the medical community, asked more than 1,000 medical students whether they’d taken formal nutrition courses during medical school. Only about 42% had done so. Those who did take such courses only received an average of about three hours of instruction per year.
Fortunately, some ways are available to address this challenge that don’t require restructuring the entire medical education system. Health care managers can help providers learn more about nutrition by:
- Facilitating training and continuing education opportunities about nutrition
- Advocating for the hiring of nutrition professionals who can guide their colleagues and work directly with patients
- Maintaining databases of resources about nutrition research
These measures can help health care providers learn about the basics of nutrition and diet-based health metrics that they can use when assessing patients.
Patient and Public Education
Every two years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) sends out its calorie-measuring study, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and receives thousands of responses. In one section, respondents are asked to report what they’ve eaten in the last 24 hours and rate their diets.
According to a recent analysis of these surveys, 75% of adults overestimate how healthy their diets are. While educating providers is a crucial first step, health care managers can support patient education by:
- Ensuring that discussions about nutrition are part of assessment and care planning
- Making easy-to-understand nutritional information available to patients in the form of pamphlets, websites and similar resources
- Establishing relationships with local nutrition specialists, so doctors can make referrals as needed
- Coordinating public education initiatives with local government agencies, schools and other organizations
In addition to helping patients and the general public understand the importance of nutrition, educational resources can empower patients to become advocates for their own well-being.
Long-Term Dietary Support
Dietary changes can be hard to maintain over a long period of time — even when those changes directly affect a person’s well-being. This may be especially true when patients get brief nutritional information in the doctor’s office and nowhere else.
Education and pamphlets are the beginning of dietary support, but managers of health care institutions can also implement certain measures that encourage ongoing discussions:
- Staff training seminars can include sections about coaching, realistic goal setting and how to approach conversations about nutrition compassionately.
- Intake paperwork can include questions about diet and overall well-being.
- Even if resources are available elsewhere, managers can ensure that providers give information to patients directly. This can include giving them handouts or recommending ways to track their progress and find meal ideas.
- Health care organizations can host support groups or provide information about local or online groups.
Along with clinical support, these resources can add a layer of social support to help patients improve their nutritional health.
Inequitable Access to Health Care and Proper Nutrition
In America, roughly 17 million households experience food insecurity. According to the USDA, the rate is highest among Black, Hispanic and single-parent households. Many live in food deserts, where options are limited to highly processed prepackaged foods. In some cases, the same households also have limited access to health care.
This disparity is a major systemic problem. However, health care administrators can play a role in addressing the issue by taking actions such as:
- Investigating the needs of the communities they serve, conducting surveys and reviewing trends in patient data
- Helping their organizations secure funding for low- or no-cost clinics that provide health care and nutrition services to vulnerable populations
- Forming relationships with charities, food pantries and similar organizations
- Ensuring that providers and patients are educated about Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other government support programs
- Advocating for systemic reform on the local, state and national levels
By taking these measures, health care managers and their organizations can become pillars of support in their communities.
Costs
Health care organizations strive to meet their patients’ needs at every level. However, designing and implementing a nutrition support initiative often requires a large financial investment, and budgeting may prove challenging. Fortunately, evidence suggests that offering nutrition support services can be a sound financial decision.
A 2021 study of about 7,000 hospital patients found that compared to patients who receive no nutritional support, patients who do receive support are often:
- Less likely to contract infections during treatment
- Readmitted less frequently
- Discharged more quickly
- More likely to survive dangerous diseases and treatments
In the study, these health benefits for patients corresponded to financial benefits for hospitals.
The average cost of care for patients receiving no nutritional support was about $66,000. For patients receiving nutritional support, the average cost of care was about $63,200 — a savings of about $2,800 per patient. By budgeting effectively, health care managers can help their organizations improve financially while also improving patient outcomes.
What Skills Do Health Care Managers Need to Address These Issues?
Health care managers don’t have to be experts in nutrition to help their organizations integrate health care and nutrition services. While some familiarity with the topic is helpful, they can often make an impact by applying a few core organizational management skills.
Health Informatics and Research
Nutrition science is constantly evolving. While managers can turn to nutrition professionals for guidance, they’re often responsible for reviewing new research and finding ways to integrate it into their programs and policies. They also need to know how to review patient data to identify which nutritional services their communities need most.
Insurance Law and Policies
Nutrition services aren’t always billable to a patient’s insurance. While the Affordable Care Act requires insurance providers to cover certain nutrition services, there are often exceptions. In many cases, for these services to be covered, a patient must be at risk of or currently suffering from a chronic disease.
Health care managers who are knowledgeable about insurance-related policies can structure nutrition programs in ways that make them accessible to as many patients as possible. For example, they can staff their organizations with the types of registered dietitians and other licensed professionals whose services are typically covered by insurance. They may also offer free nutrition resources, consultations and clinics to patients who may benefit from them but don’t qualify for insurance coverage. Administrators who aren’t able to offer these benefits at their facilities may foster relationships with other providers and organizations that can help them fill in the gaps.
Marketing
For nutrition services to be effective, communities must be aware of them. When it comes to public nutrition education, health care managers may need to know how to reach specific communities through print, social media and television ad campaigns. They may also need to coordinate efforts with local schools and advocacy organizations.
Financial Management
While nutrition programs can yield long-term financial advantages for health care institutions, it can take some time for these gains to have a measurable impact. In the meantime, managers may have to work with tight budgets, monitor resource allocation and secure funding from private donors and government grants.
Personnel Management and Leadership
Doctors, nurses and other medical personnel often have more than enough duties to fill up their days. For nutrition programs to succeed, health care managers must ensure that their care teams have enough time and training to take on new initiatives. This may require reworking schedules and hiring more staff.
Additionally, managers and other administrators must ensure that staff members are enthusiastic about focusing more on nutrition. They may need to hold meetings, share data and coach staff about new measures and why they’re important from a clinical perspective. Throughout this process, supporting staff members and acknowledging their efforts is key.
Lead Providers to Success and Patients to Healthier Lives
Integrating health care and nutrition services takes creative problem-solving skills, thoughtful leadership and authoritative knowledge about health care management. Appalachian State University’s online Bachelor of Science (BS) in Health Care Management program can help you hone those talents no matter where you are on your academic journey.
Housed in the Department of Nutrition and Health Care Management, this program gives students the unique opportunity to learn about the nuances of finance, law and leadership in the health care industry. The flexible online programming is designed to help students learn career-ready skills, participate in hands-on lessons and interact directly with their instructors and peers.
Reach out to the online admissions team today to get more information about tuition, admissions requirements and App State’s long tradition of health care management education.
Sources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Leading Causes of Death
HealthCare.gov, Preventive Care Benefits for Adults
Journal of Clinical Medicine, “Nutrition in Cancer Patients”
Journal of Wellness, “Survey of Nutrition Education Among Medical Students”
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 and Online Materials