Lorri Holzberg, MA, RDN 1330 University Dr. #27 Menlo Park, CA 94025 650-868-7359 -- mobile E-Mail: [email protected] August 7, 2014 The Honorable Rich Gordon State Capitol, P.O. Box 942849 Sacramento, CA 94249-0024 Re: SB 993 (Mitchell): re: Dietitians SUPPORT Dear ASM Gordon: First of all, thank you for your “yes” vote on SB 993 in the ASM Business, Professions and Consumer Protection Committee as it passed through on consent. I am now asking for your “yes” vote when SB 993 comes before the full Assembly. As your constituent and a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), as Vice President of Public Policy for the California Dietetic Association and a member of the Legislative & Public Policy Committee of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, I strongly support SB 993, a measure which will allow Registered Dietitians (RD)/ Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDN) to practice within the law to their trained expertise for the benefit of timely, efficient and safe patient care. SB 993 cleans and updates the existing statutes governing RDs/ RDNs and Dietetic Technicians, Registered (DTRs) by clarifying the scope of practice of RDs/ RDNs working in licensed health care institutions and by expanding the pathways by which an individual can become a DTR. I believe SB 993 is necessary for two main reasons: First, the measure seeks to clarify the existing confusing and outdated scope of practice which has resulted in CA Department of Public Health (CDPH) citations against the hospitals in which RDs/ RDNs are employed. This language enhances patient safety and increases efficiency by allowing RDs/ RDNs to perform medical nutritional therapy in collaboration with the patient’s physician and multidisciplinary team and identify proper diet and nutrition interventions to optimize patient outcomes and reduce risks through patient-centered care. Currently, CPDH asserts that RDs/ RDNs must receive physician approval before making minor modifications to a patient’s diet plan (for example, changing the texture of the diet when a patient has poor-fitting dentures) which is not the best use of the physician’s time or in the best interest of the patient. RDs/ RDNs have the training and expertise to make those minor changes within the existing nutrition/diet orders without waiting for the patient’s physician to modify the diet as long as the changes are within the parameters of the physician-prescribed diet order. Second, SB 993 aligns the statute with national standards for the DTR by updating the eligibility requirements for a dietetics student to become a credentialed DTR. Once again I encourage you to vote in support of SB 993 in August when it comes before the full Assembly. Sincerely, Lorri Holzberg Lorri Holzberg, MA, RDN Vice President Public Policy CALIFORNIA DIETETIC ASSOCIATION CC: The Honorable Holly J. Mitchell Senator, 26th District State Capitol Room 4082 Sacramento, CA 95814
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