The nutrition support team at the Kantonspital Aarau (KSA): Functions, development, and experiences over a ten years period

The ten years experience with the multidisciplinary nutrition support team at the Kantonsspital Aarau revealed as an essential element of activity the promotion of standardised clinical nutrition with optimal benefit for the patient. Evaluation of effectiveness, quality, and cost of nutrition respecting individual needs and quality of life of the patient, especially in the home setting, was documented. The experience shows that a nutrition support team has to be active beyond only detecting, preventing, and treating malnutrition (Fig. 1). Existing guidelines, their application and (scientific) validation may be seen as a quality measure of clinical nutrition in a hospital.