Food is important for people, also at hospital, rehabilitation center and nursing homes. Nevertheless, the hospital meal remains negatively connoted by professionals and patients alike. This is not surprising given the complexity of hospital food organization and the wide range of diets available in hospitals. In addition, many diets are imposed by physicians without a thorough evaluation of the nutritional needs of their patients and often for arbitrary reasons (low salt, gluten-free, modified textures or consistency, etc.). These restrictive diets are associated with decreased energy delivery and increased risk of malnutrition.
To optimize the quality of meals in hospital, a system that is adapted to patients’ abilities and perspectives should be developed (for example protected mealtimes with a dedicated time slot for meals).다이어트약 Moreover, a structured menu planning should be implemented, as should a list of permitted foods. In this way the patient’s autonomy will be enhanced, and the risk of re-hospitalization due to poor nutrition will be reduced.
A regular re-evaluation of the hospital diets should be performed by doctors, physicians dietitians and nurses according to the patient’s health status and medical situation. It should be performed using a computerized system in order to be standardized, documented and protocoled. If a diet is not adequate for the patient, nutrition support such as ONS or enteral or parenteral nutrition should be indicated.강남다이어트병원
For certain cases, a high energy or protein-enriched diet should be prescribed. These include patients who are at risk for malnutrition and polymorbid medical inpatients with a higher need for energy or protein.
The re-evaluation of the hospital food organization should be complemented by patient and staff satisfaction surveys about food ordering, composition, presentation and delivery. These surveys should be analyzed and reported to the hospital administration in order to initiate improvement measures.
The patient’s religious beliefs, presumed food intolerance or food preferences should only be taken into account in specific situations based on their severity and clinical manifestations (for example a severe allergy that can cause life-threatening symptoms such as swelling of the airways or anaphylaxis). In all other cases, they should be excluded in order to avoid nutritional imbalances.