Computer technology and the nutrition support professional: make it work for you!

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Support
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Healthcare professionals require advanced technological skills for enteral and parenteral nutrition (PN) patient care.
• Patients and caregivers increasingly use the internet for health information, necessitating professional evaluation of its accuracy.
• The widespread implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) requires clinician involvement and integration of nutrition support data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To equip healthcare professionals with essential technologic and information-seeking skills for modern nutrition support practice.
• To provide strategies for effectively searching the internet and professional literature, including MEDLINE.
• To outline the importance and suggest clinician involvement in the implementation of electronic health records.

Main Methods:

• Review of internet search strategies and World Wide Web resources.
• Guidance on utilizing MEDLINE for medical literature searches.
• Overview of electronic health record systems and their components like CPOE and decision support.

Main Results:

• Effective information-seeking skills are vital for healthcare professionals to manage patient nutrition and evaluate online health data.
• Proficiency in search engine use and MEDLINE is necessary for accessing relevant clinical information.
• Nutrition support must be a key component of integrated electronic health record systems.

Conclusions:

• Healthcare professionals must develop robust technologic and information-seeking skills to provide optimal nutrition support.
• Active participation in electronic health record implementation is essential for nutrition support clinicians.
• Integrating nutrition support into EHRs enhances patient care and clinical decision-making.