The network will develop best practices related to food-based interventions, such as medically tailored meals, produce prescriptions and nutrition education, in healthcare and communities, Tufts and Kaiser said in a Feb. 6 news release. The launch comes after Kaiser established its Food Is Medicine Center of Excellence in April 2024.
The Food Is Medicine Institute at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts and Kaiser Permanente are the primary drivers of the initiative. Other founding members of the network include Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina of Durham, CVS Health in Woonsocket, R.I., Devoted Health of Waltham, Mass., Indianapolis-based Elevance Health, Geisinger in Danville, Pa., and Pittsburgh-based Highmark Health.
“Each year, suboptimal diets and food insecurity cause more than 500,000 deaths and cost the U.S. economy $1.1 trillion in healthcare and lost productivity,” Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH, director of the institute said in the release. “By working together, we can scale evidence-based nutritional interventions that are driving change, improving health and reducing disparities.”
Kaiser and Tufts said members will create frameworks to assess the health and cost effects of Food Is Medicine interventions and work to expand their use through industry engagement and policy discussions. The network will also share findings and explore ways to improve program design and delivery.
More information is available here.
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