Catering against malnutrition
Economic pressure is growing on health care systems, and catering providers are competing mainly on price. In order break out of this cycle, a niche service system needed to be developed – a service that would create a USP for our partner. This case shows how service design can be successfully applied to B2B challenges.
Background
Eighty per cent of all elderly patients who go to hospital suffer from malnutrition. Recovery for malnourished patients takes twice as long and the mortality rate is significantly higher. Existing offerings of special nutrition have not proven successful so far. So this topic offers a great opportunity and win-win situation for patients, insurance companies, hospitals and the caterer. Due to the fact that knowledge about malnutrition and its effects on recovery has not yet been widely distributed, hospitals need to be convinced of the benefits that a better catering concept would give them, both on the economic level and in terms of the positive impact that it would have on the public’s perception of them
The main field of opportunity that was identified in the project was the subject of malnutrition. Therefore the secondary priority goal was to develop an innovative catering service to improve the problem of malnutrition in hospital settings – considering the front stage experience of the patient and their peers and the backstage experiences and processes for the hospital staff, the management and the caterer. This service was supposed to be ‘productised’ and branded in a way that enables the caterer to create a unique offering for hospitals.
The cost pressures in the German healthcare system make it very difficult to experiment and to win partners who are willing to invest money into pilot projects with no guarantee of success.
Research findings on the subject of malnutrition have, at present, not been sufficiently addressed within the German health care system. So the willingness to deal with the issue is naturally limited. A holistic approach to care – before, during and after hospitalisation- is especially important for the health insurer, as well as for hospitals. Building interdisciplinary networks between government, insurance companies, hospitals and caterers is a very demanding and time-consuming task. So it is necessary to first create prototypes – and success stories – in order to open doors.
Methodology & approach
Objective of this project was to create a catering concept for malnourished patients that provides economic value to the caterer and the hospital, that is easy to handle by the hospital staff and the caterer and that provides for better healthcare. Based on the insights from the desk research, we conducted intensive qualitative interviews with all stakeholders. We aimed to understand the concerns of the hospital management and of the nurses and doctors. We analysed existing catering concepts dealing with special nutrition, in order to understand the main problems with its acceptance. Based on our understanding of the system, we then conducted in-depth interviews with elderly patients and their peers, and observational studies were also conducted. After we had realised that, at least within a medium-term perspective, intensive care for patients could not be increased, we started to focus on technology-based solutions. We did research on different types of DIY systems that might enable the patients to better manage their own nutrition. We analysed the capabilities of elderly patients to work with tablet PCs and other mobile devices.
We developed a holistic system in collaboration with the hospital and the caterer that would support the patient from the moment of registration at the hospital throughout the stay and even post-op.
Result
Nutri+ is a holistic service that provides a variety of simple methods to detect malnutrition. It empowers it end-users and gives a dependable supply of food to malnourished patients, taking the patient’s individual characteristics into account.
It aims to simplify the communication between health supply, nutrition counselling and catering and enables the customised ordering of food, even for non-malnourished patients. Only selected offers are presented to the patient, and these can be ordered online. Feedback is actively requested after mealtimes. In addition, a new design for the existing nutrition-shake containers make the product far more attractive. The service also integrates a degree of edutainment, to make the patient and their peers better understand their diagnosis and what can be done about it in a medium and long-term perspective. The system is programmed for tablet use.
Doctors and nutrition experts are also equipped with the tablet. In short training sessions, they learn how to monitor the consumption of, and the feedback on, the special nutrition. They learn how to draw attention to any problems that may arise. And they get the qualification to draw statistics from the system. The participation in the training sessions is certified. Parts of the concept are being successfully implemented in one hospital in Kassel, with the goal in mind that coordinated solution modules can then be offered to other hospitals.
Conclusion
Service design helps to identify opportunities in B2B relationships. By revealing the needs of different stakeholders within the system, a win-win situation can be designed. The economic interests of the actors have to be taken just as seriously as do non-material values. Technologies have to be embraced in order to provide services without having to build on cost intensive, person-to-person solutions. The co-creative process of service design increases the acceptance of change and testing of innovative concepts.
