Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85965
CHANGING LANES Capitol Hill Report U.S. Department of Transportation Raises the Bar for Safety with National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners Final Rule U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced an important new safety rule that requires healthcare professionals who perform medical examinations for interstate truck and bus drivers that affect a driver's ability to safely also creates a national online database of medical examiners who have completed the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's "Safety is our top priority and requires cooperation from everyone involved, including our medical examiners," said Secretary Ray LaHood. "This new rule will ensure that healthcare professionals conducting exams keep in mind all of the demands required to operate large trucks and passenger buses safely." FMCSA developed the National agency's commitment to enhancing the medical oversight of interstate drivers, and preventing commercial vehicle-related crashes, injuries and fatalities. The rule addresses four National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendations on comprehensive training for medical examiners and tracking of driver FMCSA has posted its uniform 26 training and testing standards for medical examiners at http://nrcme. fmcsa.dot.gov/. Health care professionals, drivers, employers, public can review the training standards and sign up to receive updates on the implementation of the rule. medical examiners must be on the National Registry database, and drivers must obtain a medical examiner. Medical examiners who fail to maintain federal standards will be removed from the registry. To allow time for testing and training centers to prepare their curricula and receive FMCSA approval, healthcare professionals seeking to become examiners can begin registering on the National Registry website this summer. "Truck and bus drivers deserve highly- trained medical examiners that said FMCSA Administrator JUNE 2012 // WWW.CHANGINGLANESDIGITAL.COM