The largest single issue facing health care providers in the United States continues to be controlling costs. Increasing competition in the marketplace demands that hospital kitchens continue to expand patient choices and improve services, while striking the right balance between improving patient satisfaction, resource management, and compliance. With penalties for lower patient satisfaction scores and hospital readmissions, and changes in Medicare and Medicaid payments, it is essential for hospitals to continue to update services while controlling costs and effectively managing resources and waste. To respond to the changing needs of patients and continue to function profitably, healthcare providers are streamlining operations and looking to control costs by merging campuses with overlapping services. According to the Deloitte Consulting report “2016 Healthcare Providers Industry Outlook,” half of all current health care systems are headed for consolidation in the next decade. What started off as thousands of individual entities that provided care is quickly becoming a small number of large-scale healthcare systems. In combining these institutions, special issues are presented. Hospital foodservice operations that were previously self-operating have developed a different operational culture than a hospital foodservice operation that is coming into the system from a kitchen where services were contracted.
Hospitals can make this transition smoother by implementing food service software that combines the efficiency of a contracted kitchen with the increased food quality of a self-operated foodservice operation. Introducing hospital food service software across a newly formed health system helps to create a unique operating environment that is focused on serving fresh, on-demand foods, improving productivity, and maintaining patient safety.
Vision Software is the leading provider of health care web-based food service solutions in the world. Our Diet Office Software fully automates patient meals with flexible Patient Menu Ordering, Room Service, Patient Menu Checking, Tray Tracking, and a host of other software applications that connect clinical staff with the dietary office through HL-7 compliant interfaces. Empower your nutritional staff with allergy and food-drug interaction information in real time, and the ability to allow for patient requests and safe substitutions. Room Service from Vision Software gives patients on-demand convenience that results in better nutrient intake, improved patient outcomes, and reduced food waste. Our Tray Tracking software interfaces with your hospitals admission, discharge, and transfer (ADT) system, alerting dietary staff when patients are moved, or out of their room for a procedure. This feature allows meal trays to be paused, ensuring the patient receives fresh, delicious food and reduces food waste. Learn more about the Vision Commitment by calling us today at 629.777.8989 or complete the contact form in the sidebar to schedule your free consultation.