Section 300.2040  Diet Orders

a)         For the purposes of this Section, "medical provider" means a physician, an advanced practice registered nurse as defined in the Nurse Practice Act, or a physician assistant as defined in the Physician Assistance Practice Act of 1987.

b)         A current diet manual (printed or electronic) shall be available and in use.  A manual shall be available to the food and nutrition services department in addition to the nursing department for use by medical providers or dietitians when writing diet orders.

c)         Medical providers shall write a diet order, for each resident, indicating whether the resident is to have a general or a therapeutic diet. A medical provider may delegate writing a diet order to the dietitian.

1)         The resident's diet order shall be included in the medical record.

2)         The diet shall be served as ordered.

d)         A diet order shall be sent to the food service department when each resident is admitted and each time that the resident's diet is changed.  Each change shall be ordered by the medical provider or dietitian. The diet order shall include, at a minimum, the following information:  name of resident, room and bed number, type of diet, consistency if other than regular consistency, date diet order is sent to the food service department, name of medical provider or dietitian ordering the diet, and the signature of the person transmitting the order to the food service department.

e)         The resident shall be observed to determine acceptance of the diet, and these observations shall be recorded in the medical record.

f)         A therapeutic diet means a diet ordered by the medical provider or dietitian as part of a treatment for a disease or clinical condition, to eliminate or decrease certain substances in the diet (e.g., sodium) or to increase certain substances in the diet (e.g., potassium), or to provide food in a form that the resident is able to eat (e.g., mechanically altered diet).

g)         The kinds and variations of prescribed therapeutic diets must be available in the kitchen.  If separate menus are not planned for each specific diet, information for each specific type, in a form easily understood by staff, shall be available in a convenient location in the kitchen.

h)         All oral liquid diets shall be reviewed by a medical provider or dietitian every 48 hours.  Medical soft diets, sometimes known as transitional diets, shall be reviewed by a medical provider or dietitian every three weeks.  All other therapeutic and mechanically altered diets, including commercially prepared formulas that are in liquid form and blenderized liquid diets, shall be reviewed by a medical provider or dietitian as needed, or at least every three months.

(Source:  Amended at 49 Ill. Reg. 11527, effective August 26, 2025)