Reflecting on Food-as-Medicine Policy Summit

Last month, we attended the Food as Medicine Policy Summit held in Washington, DC, which brought together 250 executives, stakeholders, and thought leaders from the food-as-medicine landscape. This included health systems, community-based organizations, food retail & food & beverage organizations, government, researchers and academia, as well as technology solutions like Rewire Health. There were many topics addressed, but several themes presented included: expansion of access, reimbursement issues, research and data needs, cultural considerations, community-based partnerships, healthcare systems, policy and the importance of collaboration and continued discussion.

Role of RDNs in Food-as-Medicine

Rewire Health was an partner of the summit and participated in this exciting conference from the lens of registered dietitians and culinary medicine experts, and are excited to report that there was support for the Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) involvement in Food as Medicine program development and execution, as well as the need for more nutrition education solutions. Many speakers recognized the importance of leveraging the knowledge, expertise and services of RDNs. Many of the audience's questions and comments were related to "on the ground" work needed to move food-as-medicine initiatives along, oftentimes falling into the work of RDNs are already doing in practice. One of the ways discussed several times at the conference was the Medical Nutrition Therapy Act, which is working to expand current reimbursable services and increased referrals to RDNs.

Nutrition Education at the Forefront

After the opening remarks, one of the more highly related questions raised by an audience member, which was "up voted" over a dozen times, was “Getting healthy food into homes is just part of the work, what are you doing to educate consumers and patients about how to prepare, cook, eat and store the food?” This question was exciting to see as Rewire Health's mission to to provide healthcare providers actionable resources for their patients. The basis for this question came up several times among the various sessions throughout the two days. This was inevitable, given the pivotal role of nutrition education and counseling within the food-as-medicine landscape. Typically, these services are provided in conjunction with medically tailored meals, groceries, and food prescription programs.