A Critical Evaluation of the TRIFOOD Automated Food Service System

Rapid proliferation of the TRIFOOD automated hospital food service system is occurring throughout the Department of Defense DOD. A major system problem being experienced by managers at U.S. Army sites is that they have not been able to effectively apply the data generated by the TRIFOOD system to enhance their overall food service operations. This study uncovered the major fundamental problem that the sites have not been successfully implementing the system. An evaluation model was developed and used to evaluate the implementation status and data utilization of the TRIFOOD system at the U.S. Army sites in the greater Washington, D.C. area. The study discussed the potential patient care benefits that the TRIFOOD system could provide and measured where the sites were in relation to realizing these benefits. The key to success of the TRIFOOD system was viewed as timely system implementation with the effective and efficient flow of generated data into useful information. The findings of this study revealed that the management of U.S. Army hospital food service operations in the greater Washington, D.C. area has not been significantly enhanced by the TRIFOOD system.... TRIFOOD System.