RISK REDUCTION THROUGH PATIENT FOOD SAFETY

Preventing Hospital Food Allergy Complications
& Other Diet Errors

Foodservice affects patient food safety and is a greater threat than hospital risk managers realize. In America alone, thirty two million individuals have food allergies, and most reactions occurred when food was thought to be safe. For hospitals specifically, allergies are not the only safety concern. Diet restrictions must also be considered, along with the different touchpoints a meal tray goes through in the delivery process. From order placement to preparation to delivery, multiple staff members handle trays, and facilities must create safeguards at every point to ensure safety.

Hospital food allergy conflicts are the most common diet error in facilities, however, a patient receiving the wrong tray or a tray while NPO can also have severe consequences. Not to mention, impact their ability to recover, prolong their stay, and create an overall unpleasant experience while in a hospital. In cases where NPO patients received an inappropriate meal, hospitals also faced financial consequences for empty operating rooms and rescheduling surgeries and tests without proper notice.

By automating manual processes with Computrition’s software systems, leading hospitals, and healthcare systems can ensure preventative patient food safety measures are in place. Thereby streamlining workflows and eliminating the risk of errors, harmful reactions, or fatal outcomes.

The hospitals that are transforming health care put patient safety above all.

NATIONAL PATIENT SAFETY FOUNDATION

The ability to link recipes to allergens and diet restrictions is a true patient safety measure. The patient’s menu is corrected for both by the system…eliminating the potential human error and keeping our meals accurate and individualized for the patient.

HARTFORD HEALTHCARE

Safeguards are put in place to ensure that no one from the general patient population misses more than one meal and high risk diet patients are not missing meals.

HALTON HEALTHCARE SERVICES

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Because nutrition is the foundation of our software, nutrition services can rest assured that patients are secure with features that:

Trigger alerts with patient wristband scanning
Customize tray tickets
Monitor tray location with dashboard reporting
Automatically substitute items not allowed in a patient’s menu
Utilize the HL7 interface for real-time updates

Hospitals utilizing HACCP software in their operations can also maintain food quality and compliance safety standards by implementing Computrition’s foodservice software. With easy-to-use drop-down functionality, food and nutrition staff can quickly access all HACCP plans tied to a recipe through the ingredient and method tab. Making patient food safety the primary focus at multiple points in foodservice operations.

Employees and patient guests must also be included in safety initiatives as retail sales make up a significant amount of foodservice revenue. However, with the high volume of retail patrons, comes an even higher risk.

The seamless integration capabilities of Computrition’s automation, allow sites to display ingredients and allergens in a variety of ways. From FDA-compliant labels on grab-n-go’s to digital menu boards displayed outside restaurants to accessible mobile menus in patron hands, these solutions help patrons make informed decisions. As a result of automation, risk reduction becomes a hospital-wide effort!