Melissa Marra, associate professor of human nutrition and foods in the West Virginia University Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources' School of Agriculture and Food Systems, served on the Academy’s Telehealth Task Force that developed the set of recommendations.
The telehealth policy stance will guide the Academy of Nutrition Dietetics — the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals – in policy and advocacy efforts to expand access to nutrition care.
The 14-member Telehealth Task Force was comprised of representatives from diverse areas of telehealth practice from various parts of the country. Marra, who has been leading the way in practice-based telenutrition research since her first WVCTSI-funded study in 2016, served as the task force's representative for research and practice in rural and underserved areas.
"Because of the rapid expansion of telehealth during the pandemic and growing conversations at the state and federal level around making the flexibilities which allowed the expansion permanent, this work was necessary and will serve as an important framework moving forward,” Marra said.
Marra’s current USDA-funded telehealth work integrates practice-related research and provides experiential learning opportunities for students to improve access to nutrition care to West Virginians through their primary care doctors.
“Training our students—the future dietetics workforce—in telehealth is crucial because healthcare is rapidly evolving with digital technologies and virtual nutrition care is becoming a routine practice,” Marra said. “Equipping students with knowledge about data privacy, HIPAA regulations and payment models, along with the skills on virtual communications are critical to providing safe and effective virtual nutrition care into the future.”
Marra presented her telehealth research and taskforce work at the International Congress on Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome (ICOMES), in Seoul, South Korea, in the fall.
To learn more about the Academy’s Telehealth Task Force and read the published policy stance, visit the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Vol. 125, Issue 2 .