A new service offering from Aramark is connecting hospital patients with clinical dietitians remotely.
Available in hospitals that have a clinical nutrition service agreement with Aramark, the cloud-based offering leverages technology from U.S. telemedicine and virtual healthcare provider Teladoc Health and Microsoft Teams to route consultations through a facility's existing telehealth infrastructure.
“We are pleased to offer hospitals this innovative and customizable new program to connect our clinical dietitians with their patients,” explains Bart Kaericher, President and CEO of the foodservice and facility services provider's healthcare business, Aramark Healthcare+. “Utilizing Teladoc Health’s technology will help us enable vulnerable patients in underserved areas to better receive care as lack of technology or physical location will no longer be barriers.”
Aramark’s program is thoroughly vetted with each state’s regulations to ensure patient privacy and to comply with individual payer requirements.
Hospitals choosing Aramark’s telehealth program will have access to a regulatory compliant medical nutrition therapy program, trained clinical dietitians, Teladoc equipment hardware, services, technical support, and remote device monitoring.
Like nurses, clinical dietitians are in high demand and many hospitals, particularly in rural locations, face hiring shortages.
Through this service, Aramark can link its state licensed clinical dietitians with inpatients at hospitals hundreds of miles away.
Utilizing Teladoc Health’s technology will help us enable vulnerable patients in underserved areas to better receive care as lack of technology or physical location will no longer be barriers.
Using the hospital’s technical platform, the leadership team and clinician completed all Aramark program requirements within two months, and she was able to continue to work full time as a pediatric dietitian. She is currently attending rounds, assessing, and educating patients, and continues to be a vital part of the medical team.
“Medical nutrition therapy is an important aspect of our care team and the innovation offered with the Aramark program has enabled us to leverage technology to retain difficult to recruit dietitians and continue to provide, safe, high-quality care to our patients,” says Jeff Hill, Senior Vice President of Support Services and Government Relations at the University Medical Center in Lubbock.
