Help patients avoid at-home nutrition delays

By Michael Tieu, MS, RD, Good Samaritan Hospital Clinical Nutrition Manager

After reviewing several issues with tube-feed discharges and the timeliness of getting everything prepped for patients to be sent home on nutrition support, we identified lacking or last-minute communication between clinicians and case managers about an overall plan for sending patients home. This was causing delays in patients getting the nutrition supplies they needed.

I’d like to encourage physicians and APPs with patients on enteral feed or TPN who might need to continue with nutrition support after discharge to start thinking about discharge plans as early as possible and consult with the case managers. They can begin the discharge-planning process immediately, engaging the entire care team as needed.

Starting the process early gives our home-infusion companies a chance to send supplies to patients’ residences as quickly as possible and gives adequate time for our educators to guide our patients and families through a seamless discharge.

Our dietitians then will work with the case managers to make sure proper documentation is in place and a discharge nutrition-support plan is given to our infusion company partners, ensuring our patients have the right nutrition when they arrive home.

Please reach out to me or our facility case managers with any questions or concerns regarding discharging patients on nutrition support. We are happy to help.