The ASPEN Value Project

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Revealing the Economic Value of Nutrition Support Intervention

With increasing importance being placed on value-based medicine, ASPEN initiated the Value Project, led by Drs. Renay Tyler and Albert Barrocas, to measure healthcare outcomes against the cost of care delivered when nutrition support is provided.

$580 Million in Projected Savings

The study, “The Value of Nutrition Support Therapy: Impact on Clinical and Economic Outcomes in the United States,” published in the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (JPEN), found that nutrition support could save the Medicare program millions each year through shorter hospital stays and complication avoidance.

According to the study, Medicare costs savings of $580 million resulted when nutrition support was provided in the following high-priority therapeutic conditions: sepsis, gastrointestinal cancer, surgical complications, and hospital-acquired infections.

Additional application of the methodology beyond this limited group of conditions could generate more insights surrounding the considerable benefits—and extensive value—of optimal nutrition care. Read the study here.

Beneficial Findings

The Value Project provides the healthcare industry with critical information on ways to reduce costs while improving patient health. It presents concrete evidence, supporting decades of prior data, on improved patient outcomes as a result of nutrition intervention. Through the Value Project, the full value of nutrition support from both clinical and financial perspectives can be better understood.

The Value of Nutrition: Call-to-Action

Healthcare professionals, payers, and policymakers should harness the value of nutrition in support of cost-efficient, cost-effective, and high-quality healthcare.