DOT Physical Exam Doctors.

Some practitioners at clinics that administer DOT exams for the purpose of getting or renewing the Fed Med card are not doctors but can be Physician Assistants (PA). I just had a very good experience with a PA but got handed off to a MD to complete the process. The MD was horrible. It seems like drivers are at the mercy of whoever they get for the process. What experiences have you had with MD's or PA's who do these exams?

It seems any medical certification higher than an EMT can make one eligible to get the title of a DOT examiner if an individual wanted to become one. A veterinarian, a PA, a MD, a chiropractor.

I had a PA certify me one time for only three months because she felt a past physical ailment of a broken back would prevent me from performing the driving. Mind you, this was after I had been driving 250,000 miles at that point. About a month later, I had a different examiner certification with a two year card again.

It seems like drivers are at the mercy of whoever they get for the process. What experiences have you had with MD's or PA's who do these exams?

You are often at the mercy of the process. That is the whole problem with healthcare right now, the process.

As a board-certified emergency physician who has retired from practicing medicine and is now an owner-operator full-time, let me just say that your mileage may vary. Most physicians who own their practice and do our exams understand that DOT physicals are 1) a cash stream of revenue and 2) much less liability if done right than the run-of-the-mill primary care cases. In short, you would have to be remarkably stupid as a businessperson and a physician should you not prioritize fed med exams. Most physicians are, basically, company drivers now.

The majority of physicians are now employees of large corporations or hospitals (this was just reported within the last few months in major medical societies), and many of them are burned out. Think about company drivers being treated horribly and asked to work beyond HOS regulations, then think about what it would be like if HOS regulations didn't exist. That is your doctor right now.

At the moment I'm far more interested in shifting the 13-speed in my new-to-me Pete than picking up my stethoscope again for hire.

My fed med exam was done by a chiropractor, not because I didn't want a physician to do the exam but because there were no physicians in my rural area who were available.

Think about company drivers being treated horribly and asked to work beyond HOS regulations, then think about what it would be like if HOS regulations didn't exist. That is your doctor right now.

While I appreciate your comments on the "process," your illustration does little to help understand the problems doctors are facing. As a long time company driver, I have never been treated anything but generously and kindly. I certainly have never been asked to work beyond HOS regulations. Those stories about the poor company drivers being mistreated and taken advantage of are myths that O/Os like to believe because it helps them justify their reasons for what they do.

One of my closest friends is a physician who runs a very successful private practice in multiple cities. He makes a lot of money and a lot of sacrifices. I don't envy him one bit. It is a tough career. I get that part, but being a company driver is a gravy train if you want my opinion.

When I started with OD I got a 1 year card, no idea why the women who did it never said anything and I didn't notice until I left and looked at the card. I do not remember what she was though.

The last 2 I've had done one was a MD and the one last week was a Nurse Practitioner both gave me 2 year cards. Both where nice, although if I remember right it seemed the MD 2 years ago was kinda annoyed to be there.

My last exam was done by a chiropractor who is a DOT examiner and he was awesome.

Due to a heart condition I only qualify for an intrastate medical under an Ohio PUCO program that grants exceptions for drivers who had a commercial licenses prior to the national CDL.

When I went to my prior examiner, an Urgent Care Center, they did not know anything about the program and would not process it. The chiropractor took the time to review the packet I received from the state and even called an official at the PUCO for clarification.

Already have an appointment in Nov with him to get renewed.

While I appreciate your comments on the "process," your illustration does little to help understand the problems doctors are facing. As a long time company driver, I have never been treated anything but generously and kindly. I certainly have never been asked to work beyond HOS regulations. Those stories about the poor company drivers being mistreated and taken advantage of are myths that O/Os like to believe because it helps them justify their reasons for what they do.

I am very glad to hear that you are being treated well. I know there are companies that treat their drivers well, but in general I just have not heard good things from others who are rookies like myself.

If you wish to know the problems physicians are facing, it started decades ago as small independent practices merged into bigger groups. Bigger groups sold out to even bigger groups, which then sold out to private equity. Private equity has done what private equity does, and leveraged the groups to within pennies of financial ruin while squeezing the physicians to 1) see patients faster, 2) see more patients per day (in an office almost every 15 minute block will be double-booked, some triple-booked), 3) don't allow for physicians to have the time to complete the mandatory paperwork for all of those visits while on duty, and 4) cut back on pay. Repeat the process again and again, until the company is about to implode, and then sell for the maximum possible profit. Physicians are as expendable as any other employee, and my friends truly feel this to their core. Physicians are often required to "supervise" or "collaborate with" others (PAs or NPs) and take full legal responsibility for what those others do, without being able to actually direct or control the treatment of those patients in any meaningful way. Imaging being told that you are the "trainer" for a new CDL driver who is driving in a different truck. The company can and will hold you accountable for whatever that driver does incorrectly. However, you can't convoy with the driver. They have their own loads separate from your loads. You only get paid for your loads. You get their ELD logs that you have to co-sign every day, but you can't change anything. You can't help them real-time with backing into a tight dock, you can only give some guidance afterwards and at times that might be after they have bent some metal. This is the situation of physicians now.

Over the last 18 months, I have personally seen up to a 50% decrease in the amount corporations have been willing to pay me for what I was doing. To give some numbers, they would pay me $85 to see a particular patient and then bill that patient $850 under my name and my NPI (sort of like a social security number for healthcare professionals). The amount billed under my name has not decreased, but what I receive severely decreased.

My reasons for going the O/O route may be somewhat misguided. You may be correct. Time will tell. However, I do understand that I am sitting in a six figure investment that requires constant attention and feeding. I have spent more money on starting my trucking business than I had spent to go to medical school, thanks to the fact that I got a huge scholarship for medical school. But I need to be my own boss. I need to be able to spend time with my wife on a schedule that I can control. If there is an emergency I need to be able to get home in a matter of days, not a matter of weeks. I have not had a real holiday with family in decades - my former life mandated that if I did not work the holiday itself I was almost certainly on the night before the holiday. If I take a week off now I know I still have insurance ticking away. I still have rent for the office. I still have my fees for the ELD and managed services (compliance, D&A consortium, etc.) that I have contracted out. However, I do not have someone telling me that at one minute past my 34 I need to be back in the truck. If I want to set that expectation for myself that is my choice, and some times I will. But if I need more rest, I will take more rest.

I do not have someone telling me that at one minute past my 34 I need to be back in the truck. If I want to set that expectation for myself that is my choice, and some times I will. But if I need more rest, I will take more rest.

That sounds great. in fact it sounds just like my job without the six figure investment. You can believe what the knuckleheads on the internet claim if you like, but this knucklehead has discovered those clueless complainers are usually low performing underachievers who need constant monitoring. In this business we create our own liberties by our levels of productivity. Great drivers get great treatment.

I had gotten 2 year card most of the time, except the brief period of time when I became an instructor at the CDL school I took my course at.... I think that it was my BMI was slightly more than he was happy with, saying I was "at risk" for sleep apnea. I then looked on the registry to see what examiners were in my area, and found that my PCP was on the registry, so I started having him do my medical card, since he was familiar with my history and could fill out my forms every other year when I got my annual physical, since it more thorough than the DOT exam, and he just added the urine dip, eye exam, and hearing exam. I have had a 2 year card since.

Check to see if your PCP (or someone in their office) is on the registry, and if they are, see if they will fill out the forms for you at your annual exam. they may charge you a small fee to fill it out, but it may be worth it in the long run.

I had gotten 2 year card most of the time, except the brief period of time when I became an instructor at the CDL school I took my course at.... I think that it was my BMI was slightly more than he was happy with, saying I was "at risk" for sleep apnea. I then looked on the registry to see what examiners were in my area, and found that my PCP was on the registry, so I started having him do my medical card, since he was familiar with my history and could fill out my forms every other year when I got my annual physical, since it more thorough than the DOT exam, and he just added the urine dip, eye exam, and hearing exam. I have had a 2 year card since.

Check to see if your PCP (or someone in their office) is on the registry, and if they are, see if they will fill out the forms for you at your annual exam. they may charge you a small fee to fill it out, but it may be worth it in the long run.

It is INDEED a blessing to have the two paired. The place that sent Tom for his Fed Med physical when he started w/FAB almost 6 years ago, is in fact a CNP (Certified Nurse Practitioner, Dr. Amy) and she has since become his PCP.. which was a blessing, because his prior GP had recently retired. It sure helps, having all his back med info.

If she's ever charged him extra, either BC/BS absorbed it, or ... I paid it... don't know, haha! Matters not, for the convenience; heck yeah!

2 year cards here, too.

Best of luck, cool thread!

~ Anne ~