Everyone has had that moment during an internship or their first job which might have been in a hospital where when dealing with a patient they just thought, "why do I need a doctor's order to put a person with Diabetes on a Diabetic diet?", I worked in a nursing home for several years after graduation and hated the faxing, waiting, waiting...calling (and leaving messages, etc.) to modify a therapeutic diet within my scope.
Finally after two years of the Academy's work, I received an e-mail that brought me a ray of hope:
"CMS announced in the attached press release that it is proposing a rule change that would, among other things, 'Save hospitals significant resources by permitting registered dietitians to order patient diets independently, which they are trained to do, without requiring the supervision or approval of a physician or other practitioner. This frees up time for physicians and other practitioners to care for patients.'"
These changes won't take place until the end of the year, please read the article here.
Gina Lesako RD, LD is the SCAN blog coordinator (those interested in writing for SCAN can email her directly at glesako@gmail.com, resolve to increase your online exposure).
She can also be found blogging at http://dietitianseatchocolatetoo.blogspot.com/). Find her on SCAN: http://www.scandpg.org/dietitians/15720/
