Advancing practice: Using nutrition information and technology to improve health—the nutrition informatics global challenge

Aims: The unique combination of technology, information and nutrition has been utilised in health care for decades. As technology and effective use of health data evolve, the field of ‘nutrition informatics’ is positioned to advance best practices of nutrition care delivered by registered dietitians and dietetic technicians registered. The present paper reviews the opportunities. Methods: A narrative review was constructed with reference to the literature. Results: Evolution of the use of digital health care in the USA is on an aggressive timeline because of regulations, which provide financial incentives to eligible professionals and hospitals who can prove ‘meaningful use’ of certified health‐care technology. While adoption and use of electronic health records has occurred at the international level for decades, only recently have American adoption rates increased. Health‐care providers are adjusting to rapid cultural changes, which support the interoperability of health data. The dietetics profession must move in tandem with this transition to digital care. This requires implementation and development of nutrition standards, vocabularies and quality measures, which support exchange of pertinent nutrition data critical to patient care and wellbeing. All dietetic professionals need to appreciate the paradigm shift in health care. Conclusions: Dietitians who are involved with informatics will help with this transition through their work with systems implementations, understanding competencies necessary for successful integration of digital nutrition and using electronic nutrition data for research.