Minute maps are suggested time outlines for structuring your visits. They're a practical guide, not a script. Use your clinical judgment and follow the patient's lead while making sure the core elements of medical nutrition therapy are addressed.

Initial visits move from orientation and agenda setting, through a full nutrition assessment and nutrition diagnosis, to intervention, SMART goals, and follow-up planning. Focus on a nutrition diagnosis that matters both clinically and to the patient, address the underlying etiology, and set goals together rather than assigning them.

Follow-up visits focus on progress since the last visit. Review the metrics in your prior note's monitoring and evaluation plan, reassess the nutrition diagnosis, adjust interventions, and update SMART goals and monitoring measures. Explore progress in context, including the barriers and supports your patient has experienced, rather than focusing only on whether they simply "adhered" to the plan.

The suggested timing is a guide, not a requirement. Some patients or situations will need more or less time in a given section. Across all visit types, the goal is to keep the session clinically complete, patient-centered, and focused on meaningful behavior change over time. Schedule follow-up visits based on clinical judgment and medical necessity, recognizing that behavior change and meaningful progress unfold over time. Setting that expectation with the patient from the start is clinical best practice.