Through our efforts to help Feed the Front Line during 2020, one thing was abundantly clear; healthcare heroes love food delivered to their offices. We also know that food is a key factor for a successful client meeting, especially for our customers in medical sales. But sending catering to a hospital or medical office, especially after COVID, requires adherence to a tighter set of rules and guidelines than it may have in the past. We wanted to share the best practices we’ve learned when it comes to sending food to front line workers at medical offices.

Have an On-Site Contact

One of the most important things when sending food to medical practices is to make sure you have an on-site contact, including first and last name and a phone number. Delivery drivers typically aren’t allowed past the lobby entrance due to COVID precautions, so you will need to ensure someone can be there when the catering arrives. 

If you don’t already have a contact, the best thing to do is call the hospital directly, tell them you would like to make a food delivery and ask who would be the best person to speak with about that.

Determine the Right Time, Ahead Of Time

Once you have an on-site contact, work out a time ahead of the food delivery for when they are available to go to the lobby to meet the driver. This is important because if someone can’t come down to the lobby, the food will be returned to the store.

Ask About Specific Delivery Instructions 

It also helps to ask for specific delivery instructions. Hospitals are big and often have multiple entrances. Once you have an on-site contact, ask them which lobby the food should be delivered to and where is the best place to park. It’s also a good idea to ask what the COVID precautions/regulations are at that specific time to give the delivery driver a heads up. 

For added ease, all of the above are fields on ezCater’s check out page that customers can fill out when placing their catering order. 

Don’t Forget the Sunshine Act

The Sunshine Act is a 2010 healthcare law that was passed along with the Affordable Care Act, enacted for transparency between healthcare providers and the pharmaceutical industry. To be compliant with the Sunshine Act, you have to report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) most direct payments or transfer of items of value of $10 or more ($100 in a year) made to physicians or teaching hospitals, which includes any food spending. The Sunshine Act doesn’t limit the amount you can spend on, say, a lunch and learn or a sales meeting that includes physicians. But it is important to calculate your expenses precisely.

No matter what your catering needs are, know that we here at ezCater will be with you every step of the way. Get started today at ezcater.com. If this is your first time, check out How to Order Catering with ezCater.