Infuse Infuse 1 September 2017 | Page 28

Infuse: What are some of the key outcomes
thus far, in terms of positive changes to
patients’ nutritional intake?
SM: We have consistently measured four
key outcomes in a balanced scorecard-type
framework when making any change to
our foodservice models at Mater. These are
nutritional intake, plate waste, food costs and
patient satisfaction.
In terms of nutritional intake, we have seen
both an increase in total energy (kilojoule)
and protein intake, as well as an increase
in energy and protein as a percentage of
patient’s requirements. This innovative
model demonstrates the importance of
patients being able to order flexibly, both in
terms of the type of food items that patients
feel like eating, as well as ordering food
at a time of day that they feel like eating.
This improvement in intake can assist to
decrease the risk of malnutrition, which is well
documented in the acute-care setting globally
at approximately 30% of hospitalised patients.
Malnourished patients have a longer length
of hospital stay, greater risk of complications
and poorer in-hospital clinical outcomes,
which can also significantly add to costs of the
organisation.
Image courtesy of the Mater Group.
patient’s diet is recorded, so that when a
patient phones the call centre to place their
order, the system shows the meal order staff
which items are compliant (in black text) that
the patient can order and those that are non-
compliant (in red text) that the patient cannot
order. This functionality also allows meal order
staff to be able to have a conversation with
patients around alternative items and assist
them to meet their nutritional goals. [View a
sample menu here.]
Please join us in the next edition
of Infuse for part 2 of our Interview
with Sally!
Also, from recent Australian research we
know that over half of malnourished patients
eat less than or equal to 50% of food offered
to them in a typical acute-care setting, so
anything we can do to improve this can help
address malnutrition and assist patients’
clinical outcomes and recovery.
LEARN MORE:
• View a brief video to learn more
about the Room Service Initiative.
Infuse: How does the system ensure that the
room service options available to patients are
in line with their individual dietary needs?
• View the news of Room Service’s
rollout on the South Brisbane campus
of Mater, from April 2017, including
an accompanying video.
SM: We use a sophisticated electronic menu
management system (CBORD TM) that allows
meal order staff to see all menu items that
are compliant to a patient’s particular diet or
combination of diet restrictions. When setting
up the system, every menu item, ingredient
and recipe is coded into the database by a
dietitian as either compliant or non-compliant
to each diet type. The system interfaces with
our patient information system where the
• View the patient-facing information
page on Room Service.
• View the research behind
Room Service.
Connect with Sally on LinkedIn
Agarwal E, Ferguson M, Banks M, Bauer J, Capra S, Isenring E. Nutritional status and dietary intake of acute care
patients: results from the Nutrition Care Day Survey 2010.
Clin Nutr 2012;31(1):41e7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.clnu.2011.08.002
© Dietitian Connection
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Infuse | September 2017