Hospitals Question Dietitians' Right to Prescribe Diet Orders

Heidi Kiehl, MS, RD, CNSC, member of the professional practice task force of the California Dietetic Association's (CDA) public policy counsel, says the CDA became aware of CMS' diet order rules after RDs in the field approached the CDA with questions. When CMS began telling RDs they needed privileges to practice, the RDs weren't familiar with the regulatory terminology. "It was like a foreign language to us a couple of years ago," says Kiehl.

The CDA plans to rewrite its business and professions code and address licensure to make changes. To achieve that goal, CDA is working with a healthcare lawyer specializing in scope of practice and the organization maintains a working relationship with the Department of Public Health.

"We're also working with the American Dietetic Association, who has a licensing work group to help states that don't have licensure," says Kiehl. "We're not the only state that doesn't have licensure for dietitians, so there's a cluster of us who are working to move this."

Emily Berry is an associate editor for Briefings on Credentialing and Credentialing Resource Center Connection, and manages CredentialingResourceCenter.com. You can reach her at eberry@hcpro.com.