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The VST System

CLINICAL NUTRITION Tool Kit:
NUTRITIONAL RISK SCREENING TOOL
Malnutrition is alarmingly common in the hospital setting and adds significantly to morbidity and mortality. Healthcare providers are concerned with expenses, length of stay, and complication rates. Payers are interested in re-hospitalization rates, length of stay, and post-hospital care costs. Taking the following steps can reduce all of these costs:

• Identifying all patients at risk of malnutrition through nutrition screening.
• Assessing nutritional status of flagged patients to implement proactive interventions.
• Implementing early nutrition interventions in identified patients.

Traditional methods of screening patients for the incidence of malnutrition are labor-intensive and sporadic at best. VST provides a thorough method of continuously screening and identifying all patients at risk of protein-calorie malnutrition through use of computer applications. The VST Nutritional Risk Screening Tool operates in conjunction with the VST Diet History and the VST Nutritional Assessment tools.

Using electronic interfaces, the Nutritional Risk Screening Tool accepts data from the existing hospital admissions/discharges/transfer (ADT) system, order entry, laboratory, and pharmacy systems into the appropriate VST data tables. This information is compared to facility-selected screening criteria, and specific screening reports are generated throughout the day. The screening reports show all patients currently in the hospital who meet the risk criteria established by the facility. Appropriate patient information (name, room, diet type, etc.) is shown, as well as the specific risk criteria that have been met.

After review, dietitians may elect to have the computer generate a thorough nutritional assessment profile on specific patients who have met the screening criteria. This report can be used as further backup for the screening system, as a thorough nutritional assessment that can be reviewed with the physician, and as documentation to be placed in the patient's medical record.

Any patients who have been assessed and treated for malnutrition and associated nutrition related problems are identified in the VST Diet History Tool. Upon discharge, patients who have been treated for malnutrition will appear on the Patient Discharge Status Report, which is submitted to the Medical Records Department. This report can be used by diagnosis coding personnel to assure that those patients who have been treated for malnutrition can be coded as such, allowing for additional financial reimbursement by third-party payers.

Benefits
The VST Nutritional Risk Screening Tool integrates with Nutrient Analysis and Nutritional Assessment tools. Together, they offer:

• Increased clinical staff productivity.
• Reduced patient related hospital expenses due to a reduced length of stay.
• Additional reimbursement opportunities.
• Increased accuracy of patient intake analysis.
• Enhanced clinical analysis of patient nutritional status.

For background about nutritional risk screening, please see the VST Fact Sheet - Nutritional Risk Screening in the VST Resources Section.

Print information from this page plus details on all of the tools in the Clinical Nutrition Tool Kit:

For more information, please call 724.452.8794, send e-mail to info@vstech.com, or contact us online.
Vision Software Technologies, Inc.