FMCSA to recall medical examiners for failure to register

Approximately 15,727 medical examiners have not accessed their accounts in the National Registry.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced on January 24 its intention to disable over 15,000 doctors responsible for certifying the health of truck drivers.

According to the statement published in the Federal Register, the FMCSA states that most of these doctors, tasked with conducting physical qualification exams for interstate commercial motor vehicle drivers, no longer maintain their accounts in the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners. Others may need to register and undergo updated medical training.

The FMCSA reported that approximately 15,727 medical examiners have not accessed their accounts in the National Registry, resulting in non-compliance with regulatory requirements. This includes the inability to report the results of physical qualification exams for commercial motor vehicle drivers, receive communications from the FMCSA, and complete training. Examiners who do not update their accounts by February 26 will be removed from the registry.

Despite multiple attempts to contact inactive examiners through phone calls and mailed letters, the FMCSA’s efforts were unsuccessful. The proposed removal of medical examiners includes those who have not responded to the FMCSA’s attempts to contact them and have not complied with registration using login.gov, as stipulated by the agency. On the other hand, there are a total of 92,625 registered medical examiners certified by the FMCSA to conduct physical qualification exams.

The FMCSA stated that it has not received complaints from commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers indicating difficulties in scheduling appointments or locating examiners for their physical qualifications. The agency continues to monitor the situation and noted that the potential removal of the 15,727 examiners will not affect the availability of certified examiners for those in need.

Brian Morris, a member of the FMCSA’s medical review board, commented that the process for reinstatement is straightforward, so he does not see it as a “significant issue” to complete the necessary steps. Morris added, “Website security is crucial, and the government has a program for all agencies to reinforce security. The Department of Transportation must comply, as do other agencies.”

It is established that all doctors who wish to rejoin must do so through the website using login.gov. The FMCSA has specified that they have until February 26 to complete their registrations; otherwise, they will be removed.