ISO Standard for Malnutrition Prevention, Detection, and Treatment

Malnutrition in hospitals is a critical and global clinical issue that affects up to 50% of in-patients worldwide. Malnutrition is often not detected, treated or diagnosed in hospitals.

Patients with malnutrition in hospital have an increased length of stay, complications, readmissions and are at greater risk of mortality. In addition, the costs associated with malnutrition in hospitalised patients is significant.

As malnutrition care in hospitals is often inadequate, international standardisation practices can help to harmonise care across countries.

Therefore, ISDI is leading work within ISO Technical Committee 34 - Food products to develop an ISO standard for Malnutrition Prevention, Detection, and Treatment on the basis of the Standards Council of Canada standard CAN/HSO 5066:2021.

ISO website

What the standard covers

	Identifying patients at risk at admission		Monitoring nutrition intake and nutrition status
	Diagnosing malnutrition and monitoring intake		Treatment throughout hospital stay
	Integrated nutrition care plans		Facilitating organisational changes
	Providing nutrition interventions and reducing intake barriers		Focusing on nutrition care in the discharge plan