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Aim To determine the method and extent of health information technology (HIT) utilisation, roles in relation to HIT in the workplace and perceived barriers and benefits of HIT by dietitians in Australia and provide a comparison with dietitians in the USA. Methods A survey adapted from the 2011 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (Academy) was utilised and circulated electronically to Dietitians Association of Australia members and advertised through a professional nutrition website in 2013. The survey encompassed 25 questions on computer access and use, data sources, experience using HIT, organisational involvement and perceived barriers and benefits to HIT. Descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, chi-square tests and z-tests were computed to investigate and compare responses from the 2013 Australian and 2011 Academy surveys. Results The survey completion rate represented 14.5% of Dietitians Association of Australia members (747) and 5% of Academy members (3342). The Australian and Academy respondents reported similar high levels of comfort using technology, awareness of workplace HIT benefits (such as enhanced time management and improved ability to access data) and low levels of organisational involvement. However, there were a significantly greater number of Academy organisations utilising electronic health records (P < 0.05), and significantly more Academy respondents (55%) reported 'no barriers' to using HIT compared with Australians (37%) (P < 0.05). Conclusions Educational programmes will be central to ensuring dietitians are equipped with technology and information management skills required to be involved in and make informed decisions about dietetic-related HIT projects as these will soon be fundamental to dietetic practice. Disciplines Medicine and Health Sciences | Social and Behavioral Sciences Results:The survey completion rate represented 14.5% of Dietitians Association of Australia members (747) and 5% of Academy members (3,342). The Australian and Academy respondents reported similar high levels of comfort using technology, awareness of workplace HIT benefits (such as enhanced time management and improved ability to access data) and low levels of organisational involvement. However, there were a significantly greater number of Academy organisations utilising Electronic Health Records (p<0.05), and significantly more Academy respondents (55%) reported 'no barriers' to using HIT compared to Australians (37%) (p<0.05).The article was originally published as:Maunder, K., Walton, K., Williams, P., Ferguson, M., Beck, E., Ayres, E. & Hoggle, L. (2015). Uptake of nutrition informatics in Australia compared with the USA. Nutrition and Dietetics, 72 (3),[291][292][293][294][295][296][297][298] 2 Conclusions: Educational programs will be central to ensuring dietitians are equipped with technology and information management skills required to be involved in and make informed decisions about dietetic-related HIT projects as these will soon be fundamental to dietetic practice.

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The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has developed the Biomedical Translational Research Information System (BTRIS) to support researchers’ access to translational and clinical data. BTRIS includes a data repository, a set of programs for loading data from NIH electronic health records and research data management systems, an ontology for coding the disparate data with a single terminology, and a set of user interface tools that provide access to identified data from individual research studies and data across all studies from which individually identifiable data have been removed. This paper reports on unique design elements of the system, progress to date and user experience after five years of development and operation.

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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.

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