It's no surprise that foodservice in the healthcare industry receives such strict criticism. While everyone loves to indulge in their favorite meals, there's an incredible understanding of how food directly correlates to our health and overall well-being. When it comes to foodservice and healthcare, it's even more important that you find a balance between healthy meals and tasteful dishes. From trends that encourage plant-based eating to be mindful of how fresh the products you're serving are, maintaining consumer satisfaction is imperative. Food has a powerful impact on healthcare. Patient satisfaction can be contributed directly to their experience with food. Here's how to optimize that experience in your healthcare facilities.
Maintain That Delicious Taste
Most healthcare operators provide food for more than their patients alone. This includes serving meals to employees and visitors that may be looking to grab a quick bite that satisfies their hunger as well as meets their tastebud's cravings. A recent study done by Food Insight showed that taste makes up 86% of a consumer's choice when it comes to purchasing food, and price makes up 68% of what food items take priority.
While the overall perception of healthcare food servings is positive, showing that over 80% of consumers are satisfied with their meals, there is still room for improvement.
Give the Patient the Power, Add Variety
Patients staying overnight in a healthcare facility often have little to no choice on the meals they're being fed. By optimizing your menu with options that are healthy, yet give a variety of flavorful tastes, you can make drastic improvements to their overall stay and satisfaction. Studies show that food can be comforting, and by giving a patient the power to choose what they'd like to eat, you may be assisting with things such as anxiety or discomfort from being somewhere other than home.
Keeping Health as a Priority
You don't have to trade health for flavor, and many plant-based products actually provide the right vitamins needed while still being juicy and delicious. Providing meals to patients, employees, and visitors isn't just about the food. It's also recognized in the equipment and appliances used to maintain the quality of food. At Multiteria, we focus on offering design-driven solutions to build upon your healthcare dining experience in the cafeteria. Our team specializes in helping bring your serving counter ideas into reality all while ensuring proper traffic flow to increase customer satisfaction. Food has such a great impact on patients, healthcare employees, and patient's guests, so use this as an opportunity to make their time with you a positive experience when other factors may be weighing them down.
