Tufts University, Kaiser Permanente and several other healthcare organizations recently launched the Food is Medicine National Network of Excellence. The network aims to develop, assess and share the best practices in the food-is-medicine space.
Overcoming the systemic, structural and cultural issues that lead to poor nutrition is complex, making it even more essential for both private and public investment in food as health programs and policies that have been shown to be effective.
By reducing administrative burden and redesigning workflows around human needs, it creates space for what matters most: connection between clinicians and patients.
A Kaiser Permanente Southern California study published in JAMA Health Forum found that Medicare Advantage members who received meals after being discharged from the hospital had lower odds of rehospitalization and death.
The Rockefeller Foundation is funding two produce prescription pilot programs at VA healthcare systems in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Houston, Texas. Eligible veterans will be able to enroll in About Fresh’s Fresh Connect program, which provides $100 per month through a debit card, allowing the veterans to buy healthy foods at the grocery store.
Due to fewer employees working onsite, Blue Cross NC’s cafeteria is seeing less activity. The payer has decided to use its cafeteria to prepare meals and then distribute them to more than a dozen nonprofits, which then provide the meals to those in need in their communities.
Through its $5 million commitment, Season Health will partner with health plans to sponsor pilot programs and help 1,000 members with diabetes. It will also help local entrepreneurs build or expand community kitchens.
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The study found that if certain adults received medically-tailored meals, about 1.6 million hospitalizations would have been avoided, resulting in $38.7 billion saved in healthcare expenditures. Programs to provide these meals would have cost $24.8 billion, leading to $13.6 billion in net savings, according to the report.