On March 12th, 2020 the Florida legislature approved the Council’s legislation to exempt holistic health and wellness professionals, and this was signed into law that July 1st. This monumental victory would not have happened without our amazing member schools and stakeholders. Is your school a member?
Analysis of the Exemption
Florida’s Dietetics Practice and Nutrition Act (DNPA) requires a license to provide “dietetics and nutrition practice or nutrition counseling”[1] for remuneration. The law defines dietetics and nutrition practice quite broadly which led to confusion in our community of practitioners.
The new law states the following services are exempt from state regulation:
“Any person who provides information, wellness recommendations, or advice concerning nutrition, or who markets food, food materials, or dietary supplements for remuneration, if such person does not provide such services to a person under the direct care and supervision of a medical doctor for a disease or medical condition requiring nutrition intervention, not including obesity or weight loss, and does not represent himself or herself as a dietitian, licensed dietitian, registered dietitian, nutritionist, licensed nutritionist, nutrition counselor, or licensed nutrition counselor, or use any word, letter, symbol, or insignia indicating or implying that he or she is a dietitian, nutritionist, or nutrition counselor.”[2]
A new exemption to licensure will be codified as 468.505(n) in the Florida statutes and provide considerable room to practice for nonlicensed practices. While the new exemption goes a long way to open the practice of holistic health, there are still caveats to be aware of:
Titles
While practitioners are free to open or expand their business and see individual clients, they should continue to refrain from using the occupational title “nutritionist” to describe themselves, or their practice, but may use “nutrition” in its singular form when talking about your practice and services.
Clients with Existing Medical Conditions or Diseases
Practitioners should conduct detailed information gathering with prospective clients, focusing on medical intervention history and current/past medical providers.
If a client is under the current, direct care of a medical doctor for a diagnosed disease or medical condition (not including obesity or weight loss), in which nutrition intervention has been prescribed as the treatment, a non-licensed practitioner should not alter or interfere with that medical intervention.
[1] Title 32, Chapter 468, § 468.504
[2] ibid § 468.503(5)
If you would like to see the current exemption law, § 468.505, click here.