Overview
The ODT (Diet Tray Instructions) segment conveys how a meal tray is prepared and delivered — the tray type, when service applies, and any free-text instruction the kitchen needs. It sits in the dietary order group below an ORC inside an OMD dietary order message, and is typically paired with ODS which carries the diet, supplement, or preference itself.
Where ODS answers "what does the patient eat," ODT answers "how does the tray arrive" — early tray, late tray, guest tray, isolation tray, finger-food tray, and similar logistical variants.
When to use ODT
Use ODT to communicate:
- The tray service variant for a patient meal (early, late, guest, isolation).
- The service period during which the tray instruction applies.
- Free-text clarifications for tray assembly or delivery that do not fit a coded value.
ODT is generally a single occurrence per dietary order group; ODS handles repetition for multiple diets, supplements, or preferences within the same order.
Field-by-field reference
ODT has three fields. ODT-1 (Tray Type) is required and identifies the kind of tray to prepare. ODT-2 (Service Period) is optional and repeating, allowing the same tray instruction to apply across multiple meal services. ODT-3 (Text Instruction) is an optional, non-repeating free-text field for additional guidance.
| Seq | Name | Data Type | Length | Req | Repeat | Table # | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ODT-1 | Tray Type | ce | — | R | — | [HL70160] | Coded tray service variant |
| ODT-2 | Service Period | ce | — | O | Y | — | When the tray instruction applies |
| ODT-3 | Text Instruction | st | — | O | — | — | Free-text instructions for tray service |
Examples
Minimal ODT
A bare ODT conveying a standard tray type:
ODT|EARLY^Early Tray^L
Fully populated ODT
An isolation tray with a service-period qualifier and a clarifying note:
ODT|ISO^Isolation Tray^L|LUNCH^Lunch Service^L|Disposable utensils; leave outside door on cart
Annotated breakdown
ODT Segment ID
|ISO^Isolation Tray^L ODT-1 Tray Type (CE)
|LUNCH^Lunch Service^L ODT-2 Service Period (CE)
|Disposable utensils; leave outside door on cart
ODT-3 Text Instruction (ST)
In-context excerpts (OMD)
ODT inside an OMD dietary order message, grouped with ORC and ODS — an early tray for a cardiac diet:
ORC|NW|DO-77831^VORRO|||||^^^20260610063000^^R||20260610062014|NUR4421^Nguyen^Rita^^^^RN|||||MAIN^Main Kitchen
ODS|D||CARDIAC^Cardiac 2g Sodium^L
ODT|EARLY^Early Tray^L|BREAKFAST^Breakfast Service^L|Patient leaves for dialysis at 0700
A guest tray paired with a vegetarian preference:
ORC|NW|DO-77832^VORRO|||||^^^20260610170000^^R||20260610165522|NUR4421^Nguyen^Rita^^^^RN
ODS|P||VEG^Vegetarian^L
ODT|GUEST^Guest Tray^L|DINNER^Dinner Service^L|Charge to room
Used in
ODT appears in dietary order messages:
- OMD — Dietary Order — grouped with ORC and typically ODS.
Related segments
- ODS — Dietary Orders, Supplements, and Preferences.
- ORC — Common Order header that precedes ODT in the dietary order group.
FHIR mapping
No segment-level ConceptMap is published in the v2-to-FHIR Implementation Guide for ODT. Conceptually, ODT data maps to a FHIR NutritionOrder resource — ODT-1 informs NutritionOrder.oralDiet.schedule or a tray-type extension on NutritionOrder, and ODT-3 maps to NutritionOrder.oralDiet.instruction.
