Do they pull medical records like doctor visits during dot physical

The red ones......

 

If they had access to your records, they wouldn't have to ask questions on the form about your medical history. It's kind of like when they told you something was going on your "permanent record" in school. There isn't one. Unless you tell them who to call and ask questions, they have no idea where to even start.

 

BP, urine for sugar, oxygen levels, rudimentary agility......that's about it. Oh, and eye and hearing test (can you hear me now).

 

Why?

You have something to hide?

 

As I understand it, the insurance company that is paying for major health treatments, will submit info about certain claims into an insurance company database so that future insurance companies know of this treatment/expense before accepting a new-hire into the medical insurance. Here's a car insurance analogy, you wreck a car and your ABC Insurance company pays for repairs. That payment/wreck will be put into an industry database. Years later you change your car insurance to XYZ Insurance and you forget to mention you had a wreck and received insurance money for repairs. XYZ Insurance will look in the database to see if their potential new customer is lying on their application for car insurance. At the least you will have to explain why you forgot to mention that prior claim. This is without regard to the MVR/driving record files which may drop events after a given time. The insurance database, as I understand it, may have a much longer lookback period. I'm tired and don't know the health insurance example of the car insurance explanation.

 

For each "yes" to the questions on the DOT Exam form you need dates, doctor names, previous treatments, etc. The vast majority of the questions asked on the DOT exam, for a perfectly healthy person with ZERO previous surgery (no tonsils, appendix, broken bones, ear drum tubes, etc) are answered "no". Those in that group of health question you answer "yes" to are flags that the doctor/nurse needs dates, names, treatments, diagnosis, etc about. They often won't just accept "oh it was a long time ago, I don't remember what, when, why". Provide the details or don't get the DOT card.

Some people decide it's better to lie on the form and say they've never had any headaches, health issues, etc so they don't have to find out the date and doctor that removed their tonsils when they were 6 and they lived at an address 12 addresses in the past. I'm not recommending you lie on the form. You wouldn't be the first, if you did. If you have some obvious scars on your body even a blind man would notice, expect to be asked about it. Some doctors/nurses don't look ender your shirt or in your groin and some doctors/nurses practically perform an autopsy before finishing the exam. It always pay to know what type of doctor/nurse you are going to be examined by. Avoid Concentra clinics if at all possible. Their reputation is to declare you need a sleep study and a note from the last 3 Presidents of the USA before giving you DOT card. I've had the easiest exam of my career at one Concentra and a couple that were very very thorough and difficult. If you are obviously very heavy expect to be told you need a sleep study almost before you sit down to wait for the exam. Any questions they ask about sleep quality and snoring are NOT friendly talk, they are meant to give them an excuse to state you need a sleep study which one of their doctors just happens to have a clinic doing those studies.

The DOT doctor is NOT your partner in health. He's the doctor that can end your trucking career with one wrong word from you or him. Buyer beware. It's your job on the line.

 

I can pass the eye exam over the phone at one clinic. There are only so many eye exam charts and I think all of them are available from Amazon or as an image search on the internet. Or that's what some little birdie told me.

 

I wouldn't trust that stinkin' industry any further than I could throw them. You are at their mercy, and they know it. It's a greedy, money making scam with no controls, and they can bring up that hernia in kindergarten, I bet. They'll find something wrong with you,,,,it's their job or they are out of business.
So, rant on healthcare complete, I'd say yes, they can.

 

I'm looking at the question exactly as asked. The ONLY time an examiner can "pull" a medical record is if that same examiner is part of the same medical provider group that has them. Years ago my personal doc also did my physicals. So he knew my history. In fact, he would ask me if I needed a "card" sometimes if I was seeing him for another item. He was also my mom's primary doc and I remember him asking me if I needed a card while he was examining my mom. Outside of this a medical examiner only has the information YOU provide on the form. While I have no opinion on the honesty of this, a driver can omit things such as taking blood pressure meds or even the fact they are a diabetic. As long as your BP is within range and your urine is not reacting to the test strips you most likely will get by doing it. A previous comment made a reference to "red flags" this is true. Here is where a physical can go sideways FAST! Over the last 15 or so years the FMCSA has decided to get out of the business of determining fitness to drive. They set standards and provide the examiner's guidance in making that determination. More and more examiners are wanting statements from your personal doctors on things from heart issues to OSA.

OP, your medical records are your private records and as such should stay exactly that, PRIVATE! Only YOU know what is in those records. I hope your question is simply based only on the privacy principle. Because IF you are also hiding something in those records that MAY have a possible effect on your overall fitness to operate a CMV all I can say is I hope that situation does not blow up in your face. HIPAA DOES NOT apply to lawsuits and specific enforcement actions taken against you or your carrier if something happens later on.

Good luck!