DOT Physicals for new hires when you already have one.

Those blanks havent meant #### since the registry came out. That's the reason they mandated a registry in the first place.

 

I'm saying that the DMV has a form to fill out, you take that form to your /a dr. If the form is not filled out and received by the DMV BY A certain date then your CDL is no longer valid.
YES They can/do check

 

We are exempt from HIPAA.

The office releases the information to the government when there is an investigation if there is fraud.

 

No you are not exempt .The only exempt is (MEC) that is the short form.Nobody can get the long form without your written permission.Now they have made it very hard for people to forge them but nobody is entitled to your health information just because you drive a truck

 

As of 6/25 the medical examiner has to send in the (MEC) that is the short form not the long form nobody can get that without your written permission.And they started having the medical examiner sending that in this year to stop people from simply forging them and sending them in there self .So it is much harder now to get away with having false documents.That was my original answer some trucking companies will send you to there doctors to make sure you have a legitimate physical.Where just a few years ago you could simply fill it out yourself and nobody could check it.

 

You are forgetting one serious thing here. I know the rules in part 391 have changed. The Medical examiner is only required to give a carrier the long form if that person does not hold a CDL. Because physicals are only placed on the driver's CDLIS. Operators of CMVs over 10,001 rated weight also require a physical. However, (AND THIS IS IMPORTANT) a carrier is 100% free to make their job offer contingent on that driver releasing said long form. In fact, this also applies to anything covered by HIPAA. Oh, one more thing. HIPAA ONLY applies to the person who created the record and stores it.

Today, it is virtually impossible to forge a physical. Yes, I guess you could still forge one for a non-CDL required vehicle. But because the ME transmits the physical to the FMCSA, who places it on the CDLIS available to the states, you can't forge one today. This is the whole purpose behind the move to stop requiring drivers to keep cards.

 

Read the law, the use of hipaa in a regulated industry is limited to the office staff and the public but not from inquiries for regulatory purposes, if as a company requires a copy of the medical long form to be on record, there is no privacy protections applied to the company or the examiner for regulatory purposes. Right now there is none, but it used to be.

if the company mishandles the information, there is no liabilities under hipaa either.

an investigation from law enforcement also for regulatory purposes also is not covered, but the norm is to either gain permission or to have a warrant for the information in order to investigate a criminal case.

 

One last thing. Basically speaking, YOU as an operator of a CMV, regardless of type, CAN NOT use HIPAA or any other privacy rule or law to hide ANYTHING medically that might affect your fitness to drive. HIPAA was NEVER designed for that purpose.

There is a phrase used on these boards that I sometimes hate to read, but it is true. In the event YOU are involved in a serious accident that results in loss of life and/or major property damage, AND there are lawsuits, EVERY BIT of your history is subject to a legal subpoena duces tecum. I recently heard about such a lawsuit. Heck, even pre-pass and EZPass data can be obtained this way, same with EFS and Comdata records.

 

If I were hiring drivers, no way I'd allow their med card, no matter how recent.

There's still plenty of Docs handing them out to guys who aren't fit enough to drive.

Not saying they're not good drivers, or anything else bad about them, but there's way too much liability there.

 

I've often wondered about this. Always figured they'd be available.