PP359 - “FEED AS MEDICINE” - A QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT TO IMPROVE ENTERAL NUTRITION DELIVERY AND COMPLIANCE IN HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS

PP359

“FEED AS MEDICINE” - A QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT TO IMPROVE ENTERAL NUTRITION DELIVERY AND COMPLIANCE IN HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS

S. Pandey^1,*, N. Kundu¹, V. Krishnankutty ², A. V. Singh³, P. Thakur³, T. Jayaleela², K. Srivastava¹, A. Bhargava¹

¹Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics , ²Nursing, ³Quality , Medanta hospital, gurugram, India

Rationale: Enteral nutrition (EN) is the preferred modality for nutritional support in patients with a functional gastrointestinal tract and is associated with improved clinical outcomes. However, gaps between prescribed and delivered nutrition and inconsistent documentation remains prevalent and may result in underfeeding and increased morbidity.

Methods: This prospective QIP (Oct 2024–Aug 2025) included 376 inpatients admitted in wards on exclusive EN. A multidisciplinary team (Dietetics, Nursing, Quality, IT, Clinical Pharmacy) implemented phased PDSA (Plan-Do-Study- Act) cycles. The data was collected and analysis for improvement in each phase. Key performance indicators included: compliance of prescribed and administered Oral nutrition supplement (ONS), completeness of documentation and correct labelling of feed containers. Phase 1 focused on structured audits and trainings. Phase 2 introduced integration of ONS into Barcoded Medication Administration (BCMA) with standardized prescription, pharmacist validation and barcode-assisted administration as a pilot while in phase 3, hospital-wide rollout of BCMA was done along with audits and trainings.

Results: Baseline compliance for feed administration, documentation and correct labelling was 57%, 54% and 61% respectively. Following targeted interventions, the compliance of administration, documentation and labelling improved to 95%, 94% and 97% in phase 3. Integration of ONS into BCMA achieved 100% compliance.

Conclusion: Structured, multidisciplinary quality improvement interventions with regular audits significantly enhances adherence to EN practices. Ongoing monitoring, digital integration (BCMA) and reinforcement of protocol adherence are critical to ensuring optimal nutritional delivery.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared