Nutrition Care after Hospital Discharge in Singapore: Evidence-Based Best-Practice Recommendations

Abstract

The nutritional status of hospitalised patients is often at risk or compromised and predisposed to further deterioration after discharge, leading to poor clinical outcomes, high healthcare costs, and poor quality of life. This paper aims to provide evidence-based best-practice recommendations to address this, supported by a national survey of healthcare professionals in Singapore and reviewed by a multidisciplinary expert panel under the Sarcopenia Interest Group of Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Singapore (SingSPEN). We advocate screening all patients with a validated tool which includes a disease activity/burden component, an easily accessible dietitian referral pathway for patients at risk of malnutrition, and an individualised nutrition care plan formulated and delivered using a multidisciplinary team approach for patients at risk or with malnutrition. A comprehensive team would include not only dietitians but also physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, speech therapists, and medical social workers working together towards a common goal. Information on why nutrition is important for good health and how it can be achieved should also be provided to all patients and their caregivers before and after hospital discharge. With the above recommendations, we seek to improve upon the current nutrition care processes at discharge for healthcare institutions in Singapore.