Why nutrition care should be incorporated into HEDIS 3.0

Good nutritional status is integral to an individual's ability to prevent injury and chronic disease. It affects quality of life, healing, and the costs associated with treatment of disease, illness, and injury. Therefore, measures to assess provision of nutrition care should be incorporated into HEDIS 3.0. Managed care plans and purchasers of health care benefit when the appropriate nutrition screening and interventions are provided. Every managed care organization serves members at nutritional risk. Those at the greatest risk include the elderly, pregnant women, young children, and people with chronic and acute conditions. Nutrition care is low-cost, easily implemented, and can often be incorporated into existing services.