STANDARD 27: Food and Dietetic Services

27.1 General

1. The healthcare organization shall have organized dietary services that are directed and staffed by adequate qualified personnel.

2. The healthcare organization’s food and dietetic services shall be organized, directed, and staffed in such a manner to ensure that the nutritional needs of the patients are met in accordance with practitioners’ orders and acceptable standards of practice. This standard applies to internal or external services.

27.2 Policy

1. The healthcare organization shall be in compliance with applicable regulations requirements for food and dietary personnel as well as food service standards.

2. The healthcare organization shall have written policies and procedures that address at least the following:

a) availability of a diet manual and therapeutic diet menus to meet patients’ nutritional needs;

b) frequency of meals served;

c) system for diet ordering and patient trays delivery;

d) accommodation of non-routine occurrences (e.g., parenteral nutrition, peripheral parenteral nutrition, change in diet orders, early/late trays, nutritional supplements, etc.);

e) integration of the food and dietetic service into the healthcare organization management systems and Infection control programs including results of monitoring and supervision control surveys;

f) guidelines for acceptable hygiene practices of food service personnel;

g) guidelines for kitchen sanitation.

27.3 Diets

1. Menus shall meet the needs of the patients. NOTE 1 Patients who refuse the food served should be offered substitutes that are of equal nutritional value in order to meet their basic personal or ethnic needs if reasonably possible.

2. Therapeutic diets shall be prescribed by the practitioner or practitioners responsible for the care of the patients.

3. In accordance with applicable laws and regulations and healthcare organization policy, a dietitian shall address a patient’s nutritional needs and provide recommendations or consultations upon request of the patient’s medical practitioner. Orders for this consultation and any treatment enacted shall be signed dated and timed by the responsible practitioner.

4. A current therapeutic diet manual approved by the dietitian and medical staff shall be readily available to all medical, nursing, and food service personnel. This manual shall be reviewed and revised as needed at least annually by the dietary services and the medical staff.