Gervase Ware No Comments

It is always important to involve your healthcare team when making a change to your tube feeding routine. Here are some tips for preparing for, initiating, and following the discussion with your healthcare provider.

Before:

Being prepared to have this discussion with your team is important. It would help if you wrote down:

  • Current formula(s) and feeding routine
    • What has worked and what hasn’t
    • Volume and frequency of feeds
  • How you feel, including symptoms of formula intolerance and how often they occur, such as:
    • Nausea or vomiting
    • Gagging/retching
    • Bowel irregularities
    • Reflux associated with tube feeding
  • Areas in daily life that are challenging and could be improved
  • Any questions to discuss
  • Print our Eternal Referral Order form for your healthcare professional to complete to send to the DME/home infusion company

During:

Now that you have taken the time to prepare for this conversation, initiating the discussion should be easier for you. When initiating the conversation about switching, you should:

  • Have an open conversation to encourage shared medical decision-making.
  • Express your interest in a blenderized diet and why you feel it would be valuable.
  • Ask if you would benefit from a blenderized diet.
  • Share why you would like to switch to Real Food Blends and what qualities are important to you such as, 100% real food, nutritional variety, and simple ingredients.
  • Refer to any questions you came up with prior to the conversation.
  • Stay fact-based by using the information you prepared. Make sure to quantify any intolerance symptoms to inform your healthcare provider how often they happen. (Ex: I am experiencing nausea XX times per week.)
  • Express your concerns honestly and politely.

After:

After you and your healthcare provider have had a thorough conversation about incorporating real foods, they may want to send you a sample of Real Food Blends.

Your healthcare provider can complete our sample form and have samples shipped directly to your home or their office. The form can be accessed here: https://www.realfoodblends.com/shop/request-samples-hcp.aspx.

Real Food Blends may be able to help navigate insurance reimbursement.

Many private and public insurance plans cover Real Food Blends meals under the HCPCS code B4149. To find out if your insurance plan will cover Real Food Blends, you can:

  • Get a prescription from your provider
  • Contact your current DME/home infusion company or
  • Reach out to one of the DMEs/home infusion companies listed on our website

Real Food Blends customers have access to Nutricia Navigator, a FREE patient assistance program that gives exclusive, personalized support to help you navigate insurance coverage, including:

  • Contact your insurance company to verify coverage
  • Assist in appealing insurance denials
  • Help you locate where to obtain Real Food Blends

To learn more, visit: https://nutricia-na.com/NutriciaNavigator/

Your healthcare provider doesn’t recommend blenderized tube feeding – what do you do? 

It could be because it is not the right fit for your specific medical condition or because your healthcare provider is unfamiliar with the blenderized diet. You can always ask clarifying questions to discover why your healthcare provider doesn’t recommend starting the blenderized diet.

If your provider would like to learn more about the benefits of blenderized tube feeding, they can learn more at: https://www.realfoodblends.com/rdhub/ ,or they can view The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) new practice tool that covers sections 1 and 4 from ASPEN’s blenderized tube feeding practice recommendations here: BTF-Practice-Tool-Section-1_4.pdf (nutritioncare.org).