CHELSEA LANDAU - KRI STI NA WLASI UK

MI CHELLE BAKER - NOUHAD MOKDAD

Tray Accuracy
Ensuring Patient Safety and Cost Control
NFS 5350 | Organization and Management of Food Service | Fall Semester 2012

Coor di na t e d Pr og r a m i n Di e t e t i c s

Chelsea Landau
Coor di na t e d Pr og r a m i n Di e t e t i c s

Kristina Wlasiuk
Coor di na t e d Pr og r a m i n Di e t e t i c s

Michelle Baker
Coor di na t e d Pr og r a m i n Di e t e t i c s
Nouhad Mokdad
Tray
Accuracy
Ensuring
Patient Safety
and Cost
Control
how correctly food service
staff follow the menu, tray
card, or tray ticket in
assembling the tray.
Definition
new employees or trainees
in the food service
department of a hospital.
Target
Audience
instill preventative
measures on the
importance of the topic
before full-time
employment begins.
Purpose
Objectives
Knowledge Objective
At the end of training, the
hospital employee will be
able to state:

Skills Objective
At the end of training, the
hospital employee will be
able to demonstrate how
to:
1 major reason why tray
accuracy is important for the
patient
and 1 major reason why tray
accuracy is important for the
facility.
1) correctly measure portion
sizes on trays and;
2) ensure proper diet order 100%
of the time.

Purpose of
Tray
Accuracy


1) Ensuring that patients get their
proper diet order (patient
satisfaction, patient safety).


1) Ensuring that facilities utilize cost
control methods (do not waste
money and resources).



Tray Accuracy Important to the: Patient
Aids in patients meeting their
nutritional needs and
optimizing their health
Guarantee patients are
receiving accurate, nutritious
meals that accommodate their
specific dietary requirements
Faster recovery and shorter
lengths of stay
Patient satisfaction
Patient
Tray Accuracy Important to the: Facility
Inaccurate trays could result in citations
from regulatory agencies that audit quality
control
Errors in food trays will cost the
facility in not only food cost, but
employee labor
The frequency of
inaccurate portions
could cause
shortages/excesses
in food inventory
Correct
portions will
reduce food
waste
Using standardized
measuring tools will
aid in accuracy (i.e.
numbered scoops)
Facility
How are trays assembled in
the hospital?

What is a checker?

Using computerized diet cards or
diet tickets.

To reduce tray inaccuracy, a
trained individual works at the
end of a tray line as a checker.
The checker is responsible for
ensuring that food items on the
tray are in accordance with the
computerized diet cards or diet
tickets.

Facts About Tray Accuracy
How can tray accuracy be measured?

Checkers, or other trained
individuals, can measure
tray accuracy in two major
ways:
Using the rate of error
calculation
Interrupting the tray line

Facts About Tray Accuracy cont.
1. Rate of Error
Count the total number of items
on the tray ticket
Count the total number of errors
on the trays
Divide the total number of errors
by the total number of items
Multiply answer by 100
8
items
Tray 1 Tray 2 Tray 3
8
items
8
items
24
0
errors
0
errors
3
errors
3
3 .
24
0.125 x 100
=12.5%

2. Interrupting Method
Checker can quickly interrupt the tray line.
Review the tray to its diet order.
These comparisons will identify
any gaps, errors, or delays in communication of diet orders
and then followed-through in the dietary department.
The error rate and interrupting method:
serve as a useful foundation for corrective action and
as a source of motivation for improving employee
interest in performance.


Incidence of Inaccuracy Study
6, 553 trays were randomly selected and evaluated.

If a tray was not correct, evaluators noted whether the error was one of
omission, addition, or substitution.

Error of convenience: not critical with respect to diet.

Error of compliance: diet order was contradicted.

Results: average error rate was 12.9%,

Dinner
Error Rate
Lunch Error
Rate
Omission
Error Rate
Addition
Error Rate
Substitution
Error Rate
Errors of
Convenience
Errors of
Compliance
Weekdays
vs.
Weekends
An in-service program developed for evening employees
greatly decreased the rate of error during dinner.



After developing and implementing other methods of ongoing
monitoring and performance feedback, error rates decreased
by approximately
25%.

At the end of the presentation, you should be able to :
State 1 major reason why tray
accuracy is important for the patient.
State 1 major reason why tray
accuracy is important for the facility.
Demonstrate how to correctly
measure portion sizes on trays.
Demonstrate how to ensure proper
diet order 100% of the time.
TO BE COMPLETED: HAND- OUT QUI Z






Thank You
NFS 5350 | Organization and Management of Food Service | Fall Semester 2012