DCs Have Full Authority to Serve as DOT Medical Examiners
In the final rule, chiropractic physicians have full authority equal to medical doctors, osteopaths, nurse practitioners and physician assistants as certified medical examiners. Commercial drivers are required to use a certified medical examiner in the national registry for their commercial driver’s license (CDL) physicals beginning April 21, 2014. Find a Certified Medical Examiner here for your area. https://nationalregistry.fmcsa.dot.gov/NRPublicUI/home.seam
Although a number of groups were opposed to chiropractic inclusion, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s response in the final rule was: “The final rule will require all ME candidates to undergo the initial training and the certification testing that objectively measures candidate qualification and ensures that all ME’s have the same level of working knowledge of FMCSA regulation and guidelines … FMCSA will continue to rely on State determination.”
State determination refers to each state’s scope of practice. To perform the CDL physical, your state scope of practice must include performing “physical exams.”
The certification test will be provided at testing centers location across the United States. The certification test is composed of 120 computer questions with multiple-choice answers. Twenty of the questions are ungraded and are being evaluated for use on future tests. Practitioners who pass the certification test will be listed on the national registry.
Certified medical examiners must take refresher training every five years, and must retake the certification test every 10 years. They must also report all completed CDL physicals to the FMCSA monthly.
For further information please contact Dr. Michael Tigges at https://samedaydot.com/ or contact him at https://samedaydot.com/contact-us/.
By Dr. Michael Tigges