Clinical Reference Guides & Treatment Pathways

Clinical Reference Guides and Treatment Pathways are a central part of patient treatment. These condition-specific documents are developed by Nourish's Clinical Quality team to provide frameworks for care to all Nourish dietitians. Current Clinical Reference Guides and Treatment Pathways cover many of Nourish's most common patient conditions, and more are always being developed.

All Nourish dietitians are expected to have a strong understanding of Clinical Reference Guides and Treatment Pathways and to leverage them throughout patient care.

You will find the the Reference Guides and Pathways in the Internal Resources section of the Nourish Provider Portal.

Clinical Reference Guides are well-referenced primers for specific disease states, specific to medical nutrition therapy (MNT). While don’t contain everything there is to know, they contain quite a lot, with plenty of references you can continue to explore.

Clinical Reference Guides serve as helpful reminders for providers who specialize in treating the specific conditions/diseases, and as great introductions for providers who are new and interested in learning more.

We recommend using Clinical Reference Guides to help determine whether you are qualified to add a “specialty” tag for that disease state. If the information in the guide feels unfamiliar, we recommend not adding that speciality to your profile.

Treatment Pathways (or Care Pathways) are used in healthcare settings to outline evidence-based practices and interventions for the management of patients with a specific medical condition. They are sequential, structured, step-by-step plans that guide healthcare professionals through the patient care process. Pathways include evidence-based tools for treating each disease state. The session numbers are meant to be suggestions, as we trust you know your patients.

In some Treatment Pathways, we introduce eligibility criteria, including a validated screening tool for disordered eating and eating disorders. This is so that patients who come to Nourish for weight loss, but who may benefit from working with a clinician trained in disordered eating or eating disorders, are properly identified and directed. Use your clinical judgement on when to use this simple and validated screening tool. For documentation, please indicate in the chart note [other patient reported information section] if the patient has been screened and their result.

Roadmaps are condensed versions of the treatment pathways. Roadmaps contain step-by-step instructions outlining interventions for treating specific disease states.