From Stony Brook Medicine, a new meal-ordering app for hospital patients

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Stony Brook Medicine has launched a meal-ordering app  so that patients at Stony Brook University Hospital can select from a variety of meal options, using a tablet or other mobile device.

The app comes at a time when the hospital serves more than 1,500 patient meals a day. Patients are instructed on how to order meals with the app once they are admitted to the hospital.

The app displays only those items that comply with each patient’s diet and allergy restrictions. Based on patient needs, the app instantly applies filters for more than 30 different ways of eating including halal, kosher, gluten-restricted, vegetarian, cardiac, carbohydrate-controlled, and more.

Patients can schedule their meals for the day, as well as the next day. Parents and caregivers can also order meals remotely from home for their child or loved ones who are staying in the hospital.

The app was launched by Stony Brook Medicine Distinguished Dining Services, operated by the university’s Faculty Student Association.

The app was deployed through a soft launch, and rolled out to each hospital unit beginning in October.

Stony Brook University students played a key role by photographing each hospital menu item for ease and access for patients to navigate the options for their meals. They collaborated with the dietary team to confirm the nutrition facts for each food item, so patients could stay within their dietary restrictions. The hospital’s Patient and Family Advisory Council, comprising past patients and families, partnered with the dining services team to review the mobile app and helped develop patient education during the testing stages.