Digital hospital nutrition: automated assessment, clinical integration and intelligent cost control

Digital nutrition and personalized hospital meals have ceased to be a differential and have become a necessity for hospitals and healthcare institutions. In this sense, in an environment where length of stay, risk of infection and response to treatment are directly linked to the patient's nutritional status, investing in technology to automate processes, integrate teams and control costs makes all the difference.

So, in this article, you will understand how the automated nutritional assessment in hospitals, a digital integration between clinic and kitchen and cost control with a system specialized have been transforming the daily lives of nutritionists, managers and multidisciplinary teams in hospitals. .

The strategic importance of digital nutrition and personalized

Hospital nutrition has a direct impact on clinical recovery, the prevention of complications and, consequently, on reducing the length of hospitalization. This is because each patient has specific nutritional needs, which vary according to their clinical condition, health history and type of treatment.

That's why Multidisciplinary Nutritional Therapy Team (EMTN) is essential. In fact, regulated by ANVISA, this team is responsible for enteral and parenteral nutrition, This is done by defining safe eating habits and personalizing diets, always respecting pre-existing illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease or severe malnutrition.

However, for this to be effective, technological support is needed. This is where hospital nutrition digital.

Automated nutritional assessment: more precision, less risk

A automated nutritional assessment in hospitals revolutionizes the way patients are screened and monitored. After all, instead of manual records and spreadsheets, intelligent systems make it possible:

• Digital application of clinical protocols as NRS-2002;
• Integration with electronic medical records, optimizing the team's time;
• Automatic generation of alerts for patients at nutritional risk;
• Instant calculation of BMI, weight loss and calorie-protein requirements;

In this way, these digital nutrition tools guarantee a complete and up-to-date view of the patient's nutritional status and thus favor individualized clinical decisions. What's more, as recent studies have shown, the medical informatics even allows us to suggest personalized conduct based on the latest scientific evidence, a valuable support for EMTN professionals.

Digital nutrition: safely integrating clinic and kitchen

In practice, it's not enough to prescribe precise diets: you have to make sure they reach the right people. correctly in the hospital kitchen. Precisely clinical and kitchen integration for nutrition through a hospital software promotes exactly that.

For example, through software such as the from Teknisa, the flow is automated:

• The prescription typed by the nutritionist is sent directly to production;
• The system generates tray assembly maps, labels and patient-specific instructions;
• Special diets, allergies, intolerances and drug-nutrient interactions are flagged automatically;
• Tracking meals by room and bed avoids changes and rework.

Thus, this integration between areas, which is a pillar of digital nutrition, reduces errors, saves time and promotes greater patient safety, especially in hospitals with high turnover or complex clinical profiles.

Cost control with a system: planning that saves money

Another strategic gain of digital nutrition is in controlling hospital nutrition costs with a system. With complete management reports, it is possible:

• Comparing planned and executed menus;
• Analyze the cost of each meal, per patient or per type of diet;
• Generate Operating Income Statement of the Food Unit;
• Track waste, leftovers and losses in a structured way.

Basically, this data is essential for managers to be able to make more precise decisions, negotiate better with suppliers and, above all, optimize the institution's resources. All of this, of course, contributes to the sustainability of the operation and excellence in patient care.

Safety and ethics in the use of nutritional data

The implementation of digital nutrition and the digitization of processes also bring challenges. One of them is privacy of sensitive data of patients - such as clinical and dietary information.

To this end, the adoption of digital systems must be accompanied by clear policies for cybersecurity, to avoid breaches of confidentiality. At the same time, it must be emphasized that the ethical and safe use of data can generate relevant benefits for public health, such as more effective diets and the prevention of nutritional problems.

In this way, it is understood that technology is only positive if it is applied responsibly.

The Teknisa solution as a benchmark in digital hospital nutrition

With this in mind, the system developed by Teknisa is a complete solution for the management of digital hospital nutrition. The system offers:

• Automated planning of personalized diets;
• Meal production and distribution control;
• Cost management and generation of reports such as DRO;
• Hospital room service, with customization by device;
• Control of food for companions, with traceability;
• Integration with the clinical area, UAN and electronic medical records.

All this with a focus on safety, agility and efficiency, helping hospitals to improve clinical and operational indicators.

Conclusion: the impact of digital nutrition

A digital hospital nutrition is not just a trend: it's a necessary evolution. For this reason, the adoption of specialized systems is essential, as hospitals can guarantee more clinical precision, less waste, better cost control and, above all, more safety and well-being for patients and companions.

Do you want to transform your institution's hospital nutrition? Talk to Teknisa and get to know our system TecFood. After all, technology can be your greatest ally in health management!