Aramark : The Cure for Low Patient Satisfaction Scores - Room Service

THE CURE FOR LOW PATIENT SATISFACTION SCORES - ROOM SERVICE

A Case Study

INNOVATIVE IN-HOSPITAL DINING PROGRAM GIVES PATIENTS CONTROL OVER WHAT AND WHEN THEY EAT

From unfamiliar surroundings to uncomfortable medical treatments, patients often feel like they lose control of their lives while in the hospital. Dining is sometimes another area of discomfort because patients have limited dining options and a rigid daily dining schedule. Negative dining experiences can impact everything from the speed of patients' recovery to their satisfaction with the healthcare facility - and as a result, your patient satisfaction scores.

Room Service, a hotel-like dining program, is curing this age-old problem in hospitals across the country. Room Service allows patients to order what they want to eat when they want to eat it- and it's providing statistically significant patient satisfaction score improvements in many hospitals.

Room Service gives patients the ultimate flexibility and empowers patients in times of uncertainty.

Regaining control of food selection and meal timing helps boost patient satisfaction scores. Specifically, Room Service allows patients to make a meal selection closer to the time they want to eat. Appetites can change based on medications and medical treatments. Allowing the patient to order at meal time ensures they are able to select food that appeals to them at that time.

We wanted to provide a service to patients that would help improve their experience and healing while in our facilities. Within three months of deploying Room Service in one hospital, the facility went from the 60th percentile in patient satisfaction up into the 90th - and we've never looked back."

• DANIELLE PLATT, SYSTEM DIRECTOR OF CLINICAL NUTRITION

Three hospitals in the Main Line Health system experienced statistically significant percentile ranking improvements within one year of deploying Room Service and were able to continuously improve scores over a 10-year period.

Paoli Hospital - 8.4% increase

(from 83rd percentile in 2010 to 90th in 2019)

Bryn Mawr Hospital - 123% increase

(from 39th percentile in 2011 to 87th in 2019)

Lankenau Medical Center - 214% increase (from 22nd percentile in 2012 to 69th in 2019)

In the early 2010s, the administration at Main Line Health in Pennsylvania wanted to implement something innovative to better serve its patients. With the full support of Main Line Health's senior leadership and nursing staff, Aramark launched Room Service in one of Main Line Health's four hospitals.

The results were so positive from patient feedback and improved satisfaction scores that they adopted the program in two other hospitals within the system. Main Line Health found that not only did implementing Room Service increase patient satisfaction in the short-term, but also it had staying power.

10 YEAR PG - PERCENTILE RANKING ALL PG DATABASE

Time of Room Service Implementation

Pali Hospital

Bryn Mawr Hospital

Lankenau Medical Center

83	85

39

1. 37

	87	87
86
	83
	80
71

57	58

22

	89	88
83	83	84
	79

64

58

55

92	90

87

78

69

63

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

HOW IT WORKS - ROOM SERVICE IN ACTION

Through Aramark's Room Service, anytime meal ordering and on-demand delivery service works like this:

Patients who receive a dietary order in their medical record from their physicians are given a room service menu. The diet order is connected to the facility's nutrition software program to ensure nutritional needs are being met.

When a nurse first visits a new patient, the nurse explains how Room Service works and introduces them to the list of dining options they can order that meet their doctor's dietary guidelines.

A dietary host monitors the Room Service phone line and takes meal orders as they come in, ensuring the orders are in compliance with each patient's dietary guidelines. They provide educational guidance whenever possible. They also can monitor patient calorie counts if requested by the dietitians or physicians.

When the order reaches the kitchen, the food is prepared for delivery. The dining production team and tray team prepare and assemble the food and load it onto a truck, which is then transported to the respective patient's unit. Patients typically receive their food orders within 45 minutes.

Future updates to the Room Service program will include electronic meal ordering, bringing the convenience of technology to the patient's bedside.

3 LEADING ROOM SERVICE FEATURES DRASTICALLY BOOST SATISFACTION SCORES

Traditionally, patients' in-hospital dining experiences involve making three meal choices the day before, having limited options and receiving their meals at prescribed times; however, Room Service allows them to order what they want when they want it. There are three main reasons why patients love Room Service and give facilities higher patient satisfaction scores.

1 - Patients get to decide what to eat.

Room Service menu options offer greater variety than traditional hospital menus, which typically offer only a few choices. For example, at Main Line Health facilities, patients get to choose from over a dozen meal options - including everything from make-your- own sandwiches to all-day breakfast options to main dishes with multiple side options.

2 - Patients get to decide when they want to eat.

Unlike the traditional three-meals-a-day meal service in hospitals, Room Service allowes patients to order food whenever they want it. As a result, their orders are better aligned with their appetites on any given day. For example, they can have breakfast any time of day, smaller and more frequent meals, and a cup of coffee or tea whenever they want it.

This also means that they don't have to order the day before and hope that what they ordered is still appealing to them 24 hours later. For example, they may have ordered a sandwich the day before, but after a procedure the next day they have an upset stomach and only want chicken soup. As a result, patients' meal orders are more aligned with how they feel on a particular day, both from health and hunger perspectives.

3 - Patients get additional educational insight on their dietary requirements.

Each patient's individual Room Service menu is aligned with their dietary guidelines as prescribed by their doctor. This helps them better understand and manage their meal choices. If they try to order a meal that is not aligned with their dietary guidelines, the dining host will explain why such an order is not allowed, thereby, providing an additional opportunity for dietary education.

Give Your Patients Greater

Meal Control - See Greater

Satisfaction.

Are you ready to improve your patients' dining experience and boost your patient satisfaction scores? Talk with an Aramark expert today about how you can launch Room Service in your healthcare organization.