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Working with Menus with an RD Signature at the Facility Unit Level

Kevin U
  • Updated

About RD Signatures

Per state regulations, a facility must serve a menu approved by a registered dietitian (RD). The system allows a digital signature from an RD to be applied to a menu to certify that the menu meets dietary regulations and requirements for the state. 

RD signatures are applied to menus owned by a corporate parent account for their child facility accounts to copy those menus to their accounts (via the Menu Templates screen). In addition, if a facility does have an RD on site, then that facility can easily apply the RD signature to their own menus. 

Tutorial Video - RD Signatures (3:52)

Identifying an RD-Signed Menu in your Account

In the Menus Listing screen, an RD-Signed menu can be identified via the RD Signature column (see Setting Preferred Columns on the Menu Listing Screen).  rd_signature_column.png

When a RD-signed menu is open (either week-at-a-glance (WaaG) view or menu day view), the RD Signed Menu label appears beside the menu name in the header. 

RD_signed_label_open_menu.png

Copying an RD-Signed Menu to your Account

Via the Menu Templates screen, you can copy an RD-signed menu to your account as you would any other menu (see Copying a Menu from a Menu Template). A menu template that has an RD signature is identified with the RD Signature label.

rd_signature_label.png

In addition, you can easily filter RD-signed menu templates via the Menu Properties filter by selecting RD Signed and clicking GO. 

RD-signed_filter.png

Note that if the RD-signed menu is linked with any Also Available menu or snack menu (i.e., menus that are to be used along with the standard menu) you will be required to also copy the linked menus so as to keep the RD signature on the menu. If you choose not to copy the linked menu(s), the RD signature will be removed from the standard menu. 

linked_menus.png

Viewing the RD Signature Details

You can view the RD signature applied to a menu along with the following RD details: 

  • RD first name and last name

  • License number of RD (if available) 

    Professional credentials

  • Registration number of RD 
  • Expiration date of RD signature on the menu
  • State for which the signature is valid
  • Any linked menus 
  • The datetime stamp of when the signature was added and by whom or the datetime stamp of when the signature was edited and by whom. 

To view the RD signature and RD details, complete the following steps:

  1. Open the menu in the week-at-a-glance (WaaG) view. 
  2. Click the Edit Menu Properties button. The Edit Menu slide-out panel appears. 
  3. Click the RD Signature tab to view the RD signature and RD details. 

    RD_signature.png

Printing the RD Signature Details on Menu Reports

For the following menu reports, there is an option to print the RD signature via the Include RD Signature option (screenshot below). 

Include_RD_signature.png

When the Include RD Signature option is selected for a report, the RD signature details are printed at the bottom of each page, as per screenshot below. 

signature_reports.png

In addition, if the selected menu has any linked menus, the Include Linked Menus option is available to generate the linked menus in the report. 

daily_nutrient_summary.png

Actions that will Remove the RD Signature from Menu

When working in an RD-signed menu, certain actions will cause the RD signature to be removed from the menu. If the menu is also linked to an AA menu or snack menu, then the same actions will also cause the linked AA menu or snack menu to lose its RD signature. 

When carrying out such an action, the system will first warn you that doing so will cause the RD signature to be removed (first screenshot below). In order to continue, you will need to type "Confirm" as a confirmation that the signature will be removed (second screenshot below).

RD_signature_warning.png
delete_RD_signature.png

The actions that will cause an RD signature to be removed are as follows:

Note: If the menu is a flex menu, and you are swapping a menu item from within its flex group, the RD signature will not be removed. 

When an RD-Approved Corporate Menu is Copied by a Child Facility

When an RD-approved menu at the parent corporate account is copied by a child facility account, and an action above is performed by the parent corporate account that removes the RD signature, then the copied menu in the child facility account also loses its RD signature.

The reason for this is that the RD has approved a specific menu (and any linked menus), and therefore the menu (and any linked menus) must lose that approval if actions by the corporate parent account alter the menu. 

Notifications when an RD Signature is Removed

When a RD signature is removed via a menu action above, the RD Sign Removed label is displayed beside the menu name in the header. 

RD_sign_removed_label.png

Hovering over the label displays the date that the signature was removed. 

RD_sign_removed_label_hover.png

In addition, the following alert is displayed at the top of the screen, which can be closed by clicking the Close link. 

This menu is no longer RD certified due to signature removal on [Date]. The removal may have occurred due to changes to Menu content (excluding temporary replacements), signature expiration or updates to menu properties. Click here to add a new signature.

RD_signature_removed.png

Seeing Who Performed Menu Action to Remove Signature and When

If an action was performed to cause the RD signature to be removed from the menu, the system provides an audit trail of who did the action and the date and time it was performed. This information is recorded in red text on the RD Signature tab (below). 

remove_signature_date_time.png

To access the RD Signature tab to see who performed a menu action to invalidate the RD signature:

  1. Open the menu in the week-at-a-glance (WaaG) view. 
  2. Click the Edit Menu Properties button. The Edit Menu slide-out panel appears. 
  3. Click the RD Signature tab. 

Note that each removed RD signature record will still be displayed in the RD Signature tab for informational purposes (this includes signatures that have expired). If not wanting to display removed RD signature records, then select the Hide removed signatures check box. 

hide_removed_signatures.png

If required to remove an RD signature record, see Manually Removing an RD Signature from a Menu below.

Adding Your RD Signature to a Menu

For a menu owned by your account, you have the ability to add your RD signature to an existing menu. To do so, complete the following steps: 

  1. Physically write your signature on a piece of paper.
  2. Take an image of your signature and save to your local device or network. 
  3. Login to the system and locate the menu you want to add your RD signature to.
  4. Open the menu in the week-at-a-glance (WaaG) view. 
  5. Click the Edit Menu Properties button.
  6. Click the RD Signature tab.

    no_signature.png
     
  7. Click the Add Signature button. The Add New Signature window appears. 

    add_new_signature.png
     
  8. By default, the First Name and Last Name fields are automatically populated with your MealSuite account login name and cannot be changed. 
  9. Enter the following information:
    • Credentials
    • Registration Number
    • Signature Expiration Date of when the signature on the menu expires, and as such will require review. 
    • License Number of RD (optional) 
  10. In the Signature field, click the Click to upload image link to upload the image of the signature.
  11. Click the Save button to add the signature and close the Add New Signature window. Note that the Applicable States for the signature will automatically be the state of your facility. 

    signature_added_no_audit.png
     
  12. Click the Save button at top right of the Edit menu slide-out panel. The following occurs:
    • An audit trail of when the signature was added and by whom is displayed below the RD signature record.

      when_signature_added.png
       
    • The RD Signed Menu label adjacent is placed in the header of the menu screens: 

      RD_signed_label_open_menu.png
       
    • The menu screens display the following alert describing the RD signature functionality (which can be closed by clicking the Close link): "This menu has been signed and approved by a Registered Dietitian. Menu editing could invalidate signature."

      waag_RD_note.png

Editing Details of the RD Signature Record

If your user profile added an RD signature, then it can also edit the following details of an RD signature record: credentials, registration number, signature expiration date, license number, and signature image. Note that the first and last names cannot be changed. 

To edit details of an RD signature record, complete the following steps: 

  1. Open the menu in the week-at-a-glance (WaaG) view. 
  2. Click the Edit Menu Properties button. The Edit Menu slide-out panel appears. 
  3. Click the RD Signature tab to view the RD signature and RD details. 

    RD_signature.png
     
  4. Click the cog wheel in the Actions column and click Edit (first screenshot below). The window appears for you to make the edits (second screenshot below). 

    cog_remove.png

    add_new_signature_populated.png
     
  5. Make your changes to the desired fields and click Save to close the window. 
  6. Click the Save button at top right of the Edit menu slide-out panel. The following occurs: An audit trail of when the signature was edited and by whom is displayed below the RD signature record. 

    edit_signature.pngto 

Manually Removing an RD Signature Record

You can remove an RD signature record from the menu. This includes a currently-active signature, any expired RD signatures, and any RD signatures that were removed due to a menu action. To remove an RD signature record, complete the following steps:

  1. Open the menu in the week-at-a-glance (WaaG) view. 
  2. Click the Edit Menu Properties button. The Edit Menu slide-out panel appears. 
  3. Click the RD Signature tab to view the RD signature and RD details. 

    RD_signature.png
     
  4. Click the cog wheel in the Actions column and click Remove (first screenshot below). A validation message appears (second screenshot below). 

    cog_remove.png

    remove_signature_warning.png
     
  5. Click Remove. The signature record is removed from the menu. 

Nutrient Analysis of RD-Signed Menu with Linked Menus

When running the nutrient analysis of an RD-signed menu, and the menu has linked menus, the option Include linked menus from RD signature is available. 

nutrient_analysis.png

Expiring RD Signatures

If the RD signature on a menu expires, the RD Signature label is removed from the menu. Four weeks prior to an RD signature expiring, the system will indicate that the signature is to expire. Prior to a signature expiring, you can add a new RD signature to the menu, or browse through the menu templates to copy a new menu with an RD signature. 

  • In the Menus Listing screen, the Expiring Soon label appears in the RD Signature column. 

    expiring_soon.png
     
  • In an open menu (either week-at-a-glance (WaaG) view or menu day view), the RD signature expires soon! label appears adjacent to the menu name in the header. rd_signature_expires_soon.png
     
  • For a menu report that can print RD signatures, the following text appears below the selected menu. 

    RD signature on this menu will expire on [Date]. Consider browsing through RD signed menus on Menu Templates or adding a new RD signature. 

    RD_signature_expire_reports.png
     
  • If you print a menu report with an expiring signature, the RD Sign Expiring Soon label appears at the bottom of each page. 

    reports_expiring.png

Weekly Email Digest

When the RD signature of an active menu is added, edited, or deleted in the past seven days, and/or when a signature is set to expire within four weeks, an email notification is sent each Wednesday at 7:00 AM EST.  The email is summarized as follows: