DOT/CDL Medical Card Driver Examinations
Dr. Tim McCrossen is a certified Department of Transportation Cincinnati driver examiner. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration enacted a new law that requires all medical examiners who perform physical exams for commercial motor vehicle drivers to be trained and certified in FMCSA physical qualification standards.
With this law, all trucking companies will be required to have their drivers examinations performed only by doctors certified under The National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners.
In 2014, Dr. McCrossen was one of the first doctors in Cincinnati to get certified under this new program. He has been performing DOT physicals in Cincinnati for over 10 years for companies at their facilities as well as individuals in his office.
For more information on how Dr. McCrossen can help you or your company remain compliant and obtain driver physical examinations, call us at (513) 521-3360.
For more information on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners:» https://nationalregistry.fmcsa.dot.gov/NRPublicUI/home.seam
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Has posted minor changes to the Medical Examination Report Form, MCSA-5875 On July 7, 2021, FMCSA published a Technical Amendment that includes minor changes to the Medical Examination Report Form, MCSA-5875, which have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget. The current approved version of the Medical Examination Report Form has been posted on the FMCSA website.
Changes include the removal of the request for gender as FMCSA determined that the collection of this information is not necessary, corrections to punctuation and grammar, and minor formatting changes to correct errors and promote consistency in the style of bullet points, quotation and apostrophe marks, use of bolding and italics, and the use of forward slash instead of comma.
Use of the revised form will become effective on September 5, 2021 to provide sufficient time for the public to make necessary information technology changes. Medical examiners that have purchased these forms in bulk, or require time to reprogram electronic system forms, may continue to use the old forms until stocks have become depleted but should transition to the new forms as quickly as possible.
After September 5, 2021, if you are using the old forms instruct the drivers to leave the gender question blank. This post is brought to you by Dr. Tim McCrossen, the Tri State’s premier DOT/CDL medical card examination site.
Manufacturing recall of millions of CPAP and BIPAP machines. How does it affect CDL drivers?
Manufacturing giant Phillips is recalling millions of their CPAP and BIPAP machines due to an issue that can potentially cause a health risk to users of the machines. The recall was intended to address the polyester based sound abatement foam which is used to reduce sound and vibration in the affected devices. The material may break down and potentially enter the air pathway.
The US Food and Drug Administration has classified the recall as its most serious a Class I level given potential injury risk. The FDA flags a long list of potential ill effects of "black debris from the foam or certain chemicals released into the device air pathway" and inhaled or swallowed, from irritation, to inflammation, headache, asthma, hypersensitivity, nausea/vomiting, adverse effects to other organs (such as kidneys/liver) and toxic carcinogenic effects.
How does this affect CDL drivers with sleep apnea using the devices?
Such haulers can stop using the device and wait for the recall to play out to have the device repaired or replaced or purchase a new device or take the risk and continue using the device they presently have. "The agency is aware of the Phillips recall of CPAP and BIPAP devices," said FMCSA spokesperson Duane DeBruyne. "For those drivers affected by the recall, we urge them to work with their medical providers to find alternatives wherever possible."
Drivers with sleep apnea using CPAP machines for treatment should contact their treating physician before stopping use of their machine to determine the best plan of action.
This CDL/DOT driver post is presented by, Dr. Tim McCrossen, the Tri-State's premier DOT/CDL medical card examination site.
