Nutrition Services
Alberta Health Services
Malnutrition is a complex condition that often goes undetected in hospital. Identifying and treating malnutrition requires a strong feedback loop between frontline clinical care and system-level data. When clinicians provide care, they capture structured data in Electronic Health Records (EHR). These frontline actions help to make care visible to other providers and the health system, advancing our understanding of malnutrition prevalence and the care patients receive. This session demonstrates how a provincial health system utilizes EHR data and advanced data visualization techniques to evaluate documentation of malnutrition care using the Malnutrition Care Score to drive targeted quality improvement. Learning Objectives: 1. Describe how structured Electronic Health Record (EHR) data is used to evaluate documentation of malnutrition care in hospital settings. 2. Describe the Malnutrition Care Score (MCS) and how it can be applied EHR data. 3. Identify gaps in the documentation of malnutrition care components using data visualization techniques to identify areas for improvement.
Dr. Lisa Martin is a Research & Evaluation Lead for Nutrition Services at Alberta Health Services, and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Alberta. In her role she bridges the gap between academic research and provincial healthcare delivery, supporting evidence-based nutrition care. Dr. Martin is a Registered Dietitian and holds a Ph.D. in Nutrition and Metabolism. She has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications and has been an invited speaker at numerous national and international conferences. Her work focuses on using real-world data and implementation science to study malnutrition, develop diagnostic tools, and improve nutrition care. She leads the analysis and evaluation of malnutrition care pathways using provincial EMR data, examining documentation practices, pathway adherence, and quality indicators to inform system-level quality improvement initiatives. Dr. Martin’s research interests also include developing and implementing novel nutrition assessment techniques such as CT body composition to facilitate the identification and diagnosis of malnutrition. Her work aims to improve health outcomes through evidence-based nutrition practice.