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Md. Code, Health Occupations § 5-101

This is the official text of Md. Code, Health Occupations § 5-101, part of Maryland’s Code, Health Occupations — governs the licensing of healthcare professionals.

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§5–101.

Official statutory text

(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.

(b) “Board” means the State Board of Dietetic Practice.

(c) “Certified nutrition specialist” means an individual certified by the Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists, the accrediting body of the American Nutrition Association.

(d) “Dietitian-nutritionist” means, unless the context requires otherwise, an individual who is licensed by the Board to practice dietetics.

(e) “License” means, unless the context requires otherwise, a license issued by the Board to practice dietetics.

(f) (1) “Medical device” means a health care product used in the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of disease.

(2) “Medical device” does not mean:

(i) A drug;

(ii) A surgical or dental instrument;

(iii) Physical therapy equipment;

(iv) X-ray apparatus; or

(v) A component part or accessory of any of the items listed in this paragraph.

(g) “Medical nutrition” means the nutritional advice or counsel provided to an individual by a licensee in their professional capacity that is designed for an individual to alleviate a specific physiological complaint, condition, or symptom.

(h) (1) “Practice dietetics” means to apply the principles derived from integrating knowledge of food, biochemistry, physiology, management science, behavioral science, and social science to human nutrition.

(2) “Practice dietetics” includes:

(i) Assessing individual and community food practices and nutritional status using anthropometric, biochemical, clinical, dietary, and demographic data, for clinical, research, and program planning purposes;

(ii) Developing, establishing, and evaluating nutritional care plans that establish priorities, goals, and objectives for meeting nutrient needs for individuals or groups;

(iii) Nutrition counseling and education as a part of preventive or restorative health care throughout the life cycle;

(iv) Determining, applying, and evaluating standards for food and nutrition services; and

(v) Applying scientific research to the role of food in the maintenance of health and the treatment of disease.

(i) “Registered dietitian” means an individual registered with the Commission on Dietetic Registration, the accrediting body of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

(j) “Supervision” means the management of an individual who aids in the practice of dietetics by a licensed dietitian-nutritionist who may or may not be on the premises.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.