Assigning Fluid Type to Resident/Patient

• About Assigning a Fluid Type
• Manually Assigning a Fluid Type
• FAQs
  • Resident/patient is assigned a thickened fluid type (e.g., mildly thick), but is allowed a regular fluid item that is outside their assigned thickened fluid type?
  • A fluid type that I assign to a resident/patient does not save (i.e., reverts back or changes automatically).
  • What report prints a list of residents with a specific fluid type? For example, I want to see all my residents on mildly thick.
  • How do I change the name of a fluid type?
  • Can a resident or patient's fluid type be changed temporarily?
  • How do I assign a fluid restriction to a resident/patient?

About Assigning a Fluid Type

When you assign a fluid type to a resident/patient, the system will automatically serve the thickened fluid substitute item that is extended for a liquid item via its fluid substitution grid. 

This article explains how to manually assign a fluid type to residents/patients in your MealSuite account. Manually assigning fluid types will be necessary if your account is not utilizing a MealSuite Connect interface to automatically pull in fluid type assignments from your EHR. 

Note: If your account utilizes a Connect interface to pull in fluid type assignments from your EHR, then any fluid type that you manually assign on people profiles will subsequently be overwritten by the Connect interface when it syncs data from the EHR. 

Manually Assigning a Fluid Type

In the MealSuite system, a fluid recipe can be extended with thickened fluid substitutes across the fluid types (Mildly Thick, Moderately Thick, etc.). When a resident/patient is assigned a fluid type, then the system will serve the thickened fluid substitute of the fluid type for the selected recipe. For more information, see How a Fluid Recipe is Served.

From the Fluid field in the Personal Information section of the person’s profile, you assign a fluid type to a person. 

To make an exception for a patient/resident on a thickened fluid type, you cannot add a personal menu item directly on their personal menu as you would if they were on a therapeutic diet order (i.e., diet type/texture type). The reason is that when a person is assigned a fluid type, then the fluid recipe logic is triggered in the system. This means that if a fluid recipe is extended with thickened fluid substitutes, the system will serve the appropriate thickened fluid substitute for that person (see How a Fluid Recipe is Served for more information). For example, substitute juice (regular fluid recipe) with a smoothie (thickened fluid recipe). 

The workaround to serve a resident/patient an exception from their assigned fluid type is to make a "recipe exception" that bypasses the fluid substitution grid and serves the regular fluid recipe with its nutrients and associated allergens and preference groups. This is accomplished as follows:

1. Create a new recipe with the word "Exception" in the name (e.g., "Juice Exception"). 
2. In this new recipe exception, add the regular fluid recipe as the one-and-only ingredient. For example, add the Juice PC as the ingredient. This will ensure the recipe contains the appropriate nutrients and associated preference groups and allergens.
3. Do not extend the recipe exception with thickened fluid substitutes (i.e., do not select the Extend this Recipe check box in the Fluid Recipe section). 
4. With the recipe exception created, you can now add it as a personal menu item to be an exception to an assigned fluid type. Because the recipe is not extended as a fluid recipe, the system will allow the recipe to be added to the personal menu without substituting.

Note: When creating the recipe exception, you can keep it "generic", and instead specify the flavour/type in the notes when adding the recipe exception as a personal menu item. See Adding a Note to a Personal Menu Item. 

A fluid type that I assign to a resident/patient does not save (i.e., reverts back or changes automatically). 

Your account is using a MealSuite Connect interface to pull in fluid type assignments from your EHR. 

Any fluid type that you manually assign on people profiles in your MealSuite account will subsequently be overwritten by the Connect interface when it syncs data from the EHR. 

You therefore must assign fluid types to residents/patients in your EHR instead of your MealSuite account. 

What report prints a list of residents with a specific fluid type? For example, I want to see all my residents on mildly thick?

You can use the People Roster report, which prints a list of residents with a column each for diet, texture, and fluid type (screenshot below). The report can be sorted by diet order, which first sorts by diet type, then sub-sorts by texture type, then sub-sorts by fluid type, then sub-sorts by last name. 

Alternatively, you can open the People Listing screen, and sort by either the Diets, Textures, and Fluid columns, and then export the people list to an Excel® file, from which you can make further edits to remove any information you do not need. 

How do I change the name of a fluid type?

The name of a fluid type can be changed via the Diet Orders screen (Tools & Setup > Diet Orders). See the following instructions: Changing the Display Name of a Fluid Type

Can a resident or patient's fluid type be changed temporarily?

No. At this time the system does not allow a temporary time setting to be applied to a fluid type change. 

How do I assign a fluid restriction to a resident/patient?

To implement a fluid restriction for a resident/patient, see the following article: Implementing a Fluid Restriction for a Resident/Patient.