Digital health in acute care nutrition and dietetics practice: a scoping review

Digital health technologies are transforming healthcare. There is limited research describing how these technologies have been applied by nutrition and dietetic professionals across the nutrition care process. A summary of the literature is needed to guide future research.

To examine how digital health technologies have been applied in acute care nutrition and dietetics practice, identify strengths and gaps in the literature, and offer recommendations for future research.

A scoping review was conducted according to JBI guidance and was reported against the PRISMA-ScR checklist. Six databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycInfo, IEEE Xplore) were systematically searched from January 1, 2014 to 16 April, 2025. Articles that described the use of any digital health technology by nutrition and dietetic professionals to deliver, monitor, or evaluate practice across the nutrition care process in acute hospital settings were eligible. Data were extracted, narratively synthesized, and mapped to the nutrition care process, National Institute of Health & Care Classification of Digital Health Technologies, and Quadruple Aim of Healthcare.

A total of 101 articles across 24 countries (85% high-income) were included, representing 333,517 patients, 2,846 nutrition professionals, 21 diseases, and 78 primary outcomes. Telehealth was the most common technology applied in practice (31%), followed by electronic medical records and mHealth (19% each), clinical decision support (15%), machine learning and computerized provider order entry (5% each), data visualizations (3%), and digital food service systems (2%). Malnutrition was the primary therapeutic target (39%). Most study designs were observational (67%) compared to interventional (33%). Process outcomes (quality, efficiency, or safety) were more common than health, cost, or experience outcomes. Patterns of reported findings may suggest mostly favorable or mixed primary outcomes where technologies were the main exposure. Technologies were mostly applied at the intervention (n=55) or assessment (n=35) stages of the nutrition care process. Nutrition and dietetic professionals had diverse digital roles, such as interpreting risk scores in assessment, delivering telehealth care as interventions, and navigating and extracting electronic medical record data in monitoring and evaluation.

In 24 countries, a range of digital health technologies were applied across the entire nutrition care process in acute care nutrition and dietetics practice. Telehealth, electronic medical records, mHealth, and clinical decision support were most frequently used by nutrition and dietetic professionals to deliver nutrition interventions and undertake nutrition assessment.