Unintended consequences, indeed: “A few years ago, as we tried to improve patient satisfaction, we changed the way that patients order their hospital food. The program was called “At Your Request” and let patients call up to order their meals from a menu of options ““ at essentially anytime they wanted to eat. (From a practical standpoint, this works a lot like room service: you call and order your meal, and it shows up half an hour later.)
However, this turned out to be another way that patients who were at high risk for aspiration (see above) could get food that was unsafe for them to eat.”
