Food intake

Food Diary entries record a food name, the time it was consumed, a portion, a unit and an energy amount in kilocalories. Each entry belongs to a patient. A clinician can review what was recorded before or during an encounter and use that history alongside the patient’s account of the day. The record should describe actual intake. A planned item and an item the patient reports eating are different facts.

The unit matters as much as the number. A portion of two with no agreed unit is difficult to interpret. During setup, decide which everyday units staff will use and how an energy value is entered when the patient knows a label value. The team should make its method for uncertain reports clear in clinical practice, rather than turn an estimate into an apparently measured fact.

• Patient link. Every diary entry is attached to the patient whose intake it describes.
• Consumption time. The recorded time lets staff put entries in order across visits.
• Quantities. Portion, unit and energy amount remain separate so the team can read each one.

A list by patient and date is useful for the care conversation. Each entry shows the food, consumption time, portion, unit and recorded energy amount. Clinicians should read those values alongside the underlying foods and the patient’s account.

Decide which team member enters patient-reported intake and who corrects an obvious transcription error. Agree whether staff enter the time a food was consumed or the time it was reported, and keep the answer consistent. Agree how to represent mixed dishes in the food-name text and whether one entry represents a whole dish or each component. These conventions help staff record and read the same kind of intake consistently.

Test a day with several entries, including the same food at different times. Check that the patient link, order and units make the sequence intelligible. Then test a later correction and make sure the care team can identify which entry now describes the reported intake.

A patient reports breakfast at 8 a.m. and a snack later in the day. The clinician enters each food with its consumption time, portion and unit. During the encounter, the clinician sees the entries alongside the patient’s dietary restrictions and asks about a food that may relate to a recorded substance. The clinician uses the diary as evidence for the conversation, then records clinical interpretation in an attributed note for the visit.

If the patient recalls a missing snack after the appointment, enter it against the same patient with the correct consumption time. The diary remains a chronological record. The clinical note can then explain whether the late report changes the interpretation of the encounter.

• Food diary by patient — Review consumed foods in date order with portions, units and energy amounts.
• Restriction register — Check the patient’s recorded substance concerns while discussing intake.

See food intake review and encounter documentation.