Advances are needed to ensure safe and effective treatment is available for people with eating disorders. Recently developed clinical practice and training standards for mental health professionals and dietitians represent a significant step in this direction by providing a consensus statement on eating disorder treatment as a foundation on which to build competent practice. This commentary argues that a credentialing system could promote implementation of these practice standards through formal recognition of qualifications, knowledge, training and professional activities to meet minimum standards for delivery of safe and effective eating disorder treatment. Drivers for credentialing include the imperative to provide safe and effective care, promotion of workforce development in eating disorder practice and, importantly, readily available and transparent information for referrers, consumers, and carers to identify health professionals credentialed to provide eating disorder treatment. However, a number of factors must be considered to ensure that credentialing does not restrict access to care, such as prohibitively narrow criteria to become credentialed, absence of pathways for education, training, or professional development opportunities, and lack of consultation with or endorsement by stakeholders of the credentialing criteria, application and approval processes, and ways of identifying credentialed practitioners. Further work, including development of credentialing criteria and aligned training opportunities, currently being undertaken by the Australia & New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders and the National Eating Disorders Collaboration in consultation with stakeholders in the eating disorders sector and health professions will advance understanding of the feasibility of a system of credentialing for eating disorders within Australia and New Zealand. The availability of clinical practice and training standards, supported by implementation pathways, including credentialing of eating disorders practitioners, aim to improve quality of life, reduce financial burden, and close the treatment gap.

中文翻译：

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饮食失调临床医生的认证：实施临床实践标准的途径


需要取得进展以确保饮食失调患者能够获得安全有效的治疗。最近为心理健康专业人员和营养师制定的临床实践和培训标准通过提供关于饮食失调治疗的共识声明作为建立合格实践的基础，代表了朝这个方向迈出的重要一步。本文认为，认证体系可以通过对资格、知识、培训和专业活动的正式认可来促进这些实践标准的实施，以满足提供安全有效的饮食失调治疗的最低标准。认证的驱动因素包括必须提供安全有效的护理、促进饮食失调实践中的劳动力发展，以及重要的是，为推荐人、消费者和护理人员提供容易获得和透明的信息，以确定有资格提供饮食失调治疗的卫生专业人员。然而，必须考虑许多因素，以确保认证不会限制获得护理的机会，例如获得认证的标准过于狭窄，缺乏教育、培训或专业发展机会的途径，以及缺乏与相关机构的协商或认可。认证标准、申请和批准流程以及识别认证从业人员的方法的利益相关者。 进一步的工作，包括制定认证标准和统一的培训机会，目前由澳大利亚和新西兰饮食失调学院和国家饮食失调合作组织与饮食失调部门和卫生专业的利益相关者协商进行，将增进对可行性的了解澳大利亚和新西兰饮食失调认证系统的建立。提供临床实践和培训标准，并辅以实施途径（包括饮食失调从业者的认证），旨在提高生活质量、减轻经济负担并缩小治疗差距。