Officials Object to FMCSA Medical Data Proposal

Medical professionals and state driver licensing agencies objected to a proposal to require daily updates of commercial drivers’ physical exam information, telling federal regulators the system would be burdensome and costly.

The comments came in response to a May proposal from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that would have medical examiners submit the results of their physicals on drivers at the end of each day. FMCSA would forward that data to states licensing agencies the next day, and the states would have to post it to a database the day after that.

Drivers are currently responsible for providing their medical certificates to states, but FMCSA said it sought to reduce fraud by quickly letting law enforcement officers know if drivers have failed physicals.

The American Medical Association asked that FMCSA allow “significantly” more time to submit data, and allow examiners to do so through a variety of means, such as fax or mail, rather than only in an electronic format.

“We are concerned that this proposal will prove administratively burdensome for physicians, who will need to modify and augment their office processes to accommodate these requirements,” AMA wrote.

Currently, doctors, nurse practitioners, chiropractors and other professionals who are on FMCSA’s National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners must submit physical data monthly. By May 2014, all truck driver physicals will have to be completed by certified examiners, who must be trained and tested on federal rules.

For additional coverage, see the July 22 print edition of Transport Topics.