The nutrition care profile: an aid to delivery of quality nutrition care in a small community hospital.

In an effort to improve nutrition care in a small community hospital with one registered dietitian (R.D.), a system using a nutrition care profile (NCP) and a certified dietetic assistant (C.D.A.) was developed. The NCP includes criteria recognized in the literature or through clinical experience to be indicators of nutrition care needs. The profile is completed by the C.D.A. and reviewed by the R.D., who determines priorities for the patient's nutrition care needs. The NCP has proved to be an effective and efficient tool for prioritizing and systematizing follow-up of nutrition care needs. Indeed, because the NCP form is itself so effective as a follow-up tool for dietary records, the R.D. has found she must make a conscious effort to document nutrition care in the medical record.