news, strategies, & insights about hospital food service and technology

My dad, who I sadly lost this year, had a saying about selecting a life profession: “Think of what you like to do, and decide if you’re going to either make it or sell it.” In its simplicity, the adage has proven itself true over and over again.

Consider the talents of artists, scientists, and engineers – all of whom can conceptualize an idea into masterpieces of beauty and/or function. How else would we have the benefits of a Renoir painting or a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright? Who would have ever imagined we could reduce a computer’s size to that of a manila envelope? Wait – who could have ever imagined a computer in the first place? To help creative souls make an actual living, it is the sellers – teachers, marketers, salesmen – who find ways to promote artistic concepts into consumer needs. If done effectively, we become excited to be part of something new or beautiful, to embrace a better breadbox by improving circumstances to a higher standard than ever before.

Historically, the sales and marketing side of business has been seen in a negative light – tough to justify expense and return, annoying and persistent personalities, etc. Yet, even if we can’t take credit for a product’s design or creation, aren’t the rest of us actually sellers? Aren’t we selling a new entrée plate in the cafeteria, or a new menu delivery system to our patients and hospital staff? Aren’t we selling an efficiency method when we promote automation of our inventory? Or, would it be more accurate to state we are sharing excitement and fun instead? Doesn’t everyone want to be “in” on the latest idea or fashion? Perhaps not, but sharing happiness and excitement is definitely a fun way to manage change.

Over the holiday season, I kept wondering how one of my favorite movie characters – Buddy the Elf – would handle customer service and sales. His innocence, and genuinely happy approach to everything, is pretty significant when one also considers outcomes. Recipients of his antics do not realize what hit them: random acts of kindness, compliments, and silliness temper the doldrums of day-to-day life.

In a recent blog by Ron Dawson (12/10/10), he cites Buddy life-lessons we can all use every day – from greeting everyone with a hug to loving the unlovable. While we can’t hug everyone in our daily business, we can treat everyone with genuine welcome. And, perhaps the hardest challenges are the most rewarding (aka the “unlovable”)? In Stephanie Wonderlin’s blog about Buddy the Elf, she identified how his skill sets – always asking questions (“Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?”) and positive outlook (“You did it! Congratulations! World’s best cup of coffee! Great job, everybody! It’s great to be here.”) – help us learn our customers’ needs, along with adapting sales strategies to accommodate the target market. She reminds us that technology does not replace human contact. Surely, we haven’t forgotten that?

In the end, I think we sometimes forget who our customer really is. It could be someone calling for software assistance, or a recipe’s allergy information, or just another human being seeking to expand their knowledge. We might also forget that the majority of us are the sellers, or better yet, the educators of a challenge yet unsolved. What an awesome privilege – sharing knowledge, promoting solutions, and bringing artistic concept to reality.

Thanks for the reminders, Buddy… my favorite color is red.

Most Foodservice and Nutrition Care Managers would acknowledge that, in a number of situations, “OK is good enough”. However, many times it is understood and that “OK” is NOT acceptable. It is likely that many individuals would agree 99.9% accuracy is a completely adequate standard. Yet, in many healthcare situations, even 99.9% is definitely not good enough. Here are some examples, from a 400-bed teaching hospital, of what would happen each year if 99.9% accuracy was the accepted standard:

Newborn babies dropped by obstetricians: 4
X-rays incorrectly diagnosed: 110
Medications given to the wrong patient: 2,850
Minutes of ventilator life support failure: 54
Incorrectly reported lab results: 1,095
Meal trays received by the wrong patient: 416

So then, based on the above examples, is 99.9% good enough? There will always be risks. The goal and reward is to create systems which will avoid, reduce and eliminate ANY risks.

Technology Outlook 2010 reveals technologies that can “make a real impact” in healthcare this year, as identified by leading IT executives. A common thread: Supporting the clinical care workflow in real time.

The clinical workforce is mobile. Care takes place at the bedside, not at computers in remote offices. Healthcare is a face-to-face business. This means “traditional computers have become mobile devices,” according to Russ Branzell, CIO at Poudre Valley Health System (Fort Collins, CO).

Additional technologies in high demand include smartphones and interactive patient television systems. Each of these devices moves patient care to its rightful place—with the patient.

What does this mean for patient menus in hospitals? It means that excellence in care requires a real-time workflow that responds to patient needs and requests at the touch of a screen or the tap of a PDA.

Branzell believes, “One of next major advancements will be to take the traditional television and transform it into the center of the patient care experience.” This approach requires integrated hospital technologies and HL7-compliant interfaces for a unified patient health record. Vision Software is proud to have pioneered the application of patient-driven menus supported by mobile and bedside technologies, including interactive television systems. At stake is patient satisfaction, as well as crucial compliance with ever-changing clinical data: diet orders, diet history data, nutritional status, medication lists, and of course, patient requests.

Technology Outlook also emphasizes the importance of “analytical software for doing automated comparisons” to improve patient care. Does nutrition screening come to mind? Despite its automation and labor savings, the power of technology actually goes much deeper.

The real benefit of nutrition screening software is discovering patient needs and opportunities. With short length-of-stay and limited resources in hospitals today, every hour is critical. Let’s set nutritional assessment and personalized care planning into action in time to improve patients’ well-being through comprehensive, automated nutrition screening that taps into real-time information available through the electronic health record.

Are your clinical nutrition experts empowered with technology that follows—rather than impeding—their real workflows? Are you ahead of the curve in your hospital food & nutrition operation? The time is now.