FMCSA Removes Over 15,000 Medical Examiner Certifications from the Registry
Federal trucking regulators have disqualified more than 15,000 physicians responsible for certifying that truck drivers are healthy enough to get behind the wheel during a DOT Physical.
Some physicians have not been active in maintaining their account in the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners, which is a group of certified physicians that conduct physical qualification exams for interstate commercial motor vehicle drivers. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced on Jan. 24th in the Federal Register, that some physicians may need to register and receive updated refresher medical training.
“FMCSA proposes to remove medical examiners from its National Registry who have failed to access their National Registry account using login.gov and have failed to update the profile information in their National Registry account as required,” the announcement said. “There are approximately 15,727 medical examiners who have not accessed their National Registry account using login.gov, and as a result, are not able to fulfill regulatory requirements, such as reporting results of physical qualification examinations performed on commercial motor vehicle drivers, receiving FMCSA communications and completing required training.”
This action was carried out February 26th and 27th and WorkforceQA can confirm that more than 15,000 examiners are no longer certified. Many examiners may not be aware that their certification has lapsed.
According to FMCSA, its staff had made several attempts to contact inactive medical examiners through phone calls and letters sent by mail. However, these attempts were unsuccessful. The agency then tried to contact the medical examiner administrative assistants and third-party organizations designated by the MEs who were proposed for removal to get current contact information for them. Despite these efforts, the MEs proposed for removal have not responded to FMCSA’s attempts to contact them. They have also failed to access their registry account using login.gov, as stated by the agency in June 2023.
FMCSA reports that there are currently 92,625 Medical Examiners (MEs) listed on the registry who have been certified by FMCSA to conduct physical qualification examinations. Out of these, about 76,898 MEs are accessing their registry account using login.gov. Additionally, 38,707 of these MEs are actively performing physical qualification examinations and reporting the results to the registry.
20% OF EXAMINERS HAVE BEEN REMOVED!
All FMCSA physicals must be completed by a Certified Medical Examiner. Employers must verify that the Medical Examiner for each employee’s exam are listed on the National Medical Registry and document this in the Driver Qualification File (391.51(d)(5)) notes.
HOW CAN WFQA HELP – DOT PHYSICAL REVIEW PROGRAM
WFQA’s DOT Physical Review program is the ultimate solution for helping to ensure a safe and secure driver. Our program meticulously verifies each physical against the National Registry, generates the necessary note for the Driver Qualification File, and checks for inaccuracies on the physical. This helps to ensure that employers are protected from any legal liabilities and that the roads are safe for all drivers. With our comprehensive program in place, you can be sure that you’re doing your part to keep our roads safe.
For more information on WFQA’s DOT Physical Review Program:
New Medical Examiner’s Handbook 2024 Edition Overview Webinar
FMCSA is providing this informational webinar overviewing The Medical Examiner’s Handbook 2024 Edition (MEH) published on January 22, 2024 (89 FR 3892). This webinar provides an overview of the MEH structure, highlights removed and added information from previously published versions, and discusses updates to the Medical Advisory Criteria published in Appendix A to 49 CFR part 391 (89 FR 3577, January 19, 2024).
