Source: AAFP Washington, DC, Office
On October 19, the American Academy of Family Physicians wrote the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) a letter in response to the request for comments on a report titled, “Insulin Treated Diabetes Mellitus and Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers.”
The FMCSA requested feedback on a report that recommends allowing drivers with stable, well-controlled insulin-treated diabetes mellitus to be qualified to operate commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce by treating clinicians that are a doctor of medicine, a doctor of osteopathy, a nurse practitioner, or a physician’s assistant who prescribed insulin to the driver and is knowledgeable regarding the treatment of diabetes.
Current FMCSA policy requires such drivers to be examined by a physician who is a board-certified or board-eligible endocrinologist. Since the AAFP called for this change in previous comment letters, the AAFP applauded the FMCS and fully supports the recommendation to allow primary care physicians to complete forms needed by commercial motor vehicle drivers with well-controlled insulin-treated diabetes mellitus.
The AAFP’s letter expressed concern that the FMCSA proposes to allow a nurse practitioner or a physician’s assistant to perform these services without a physician’s involvement. The letter urged the FMCSA to finalize policy that allows a doctor of medicine or osteopathy to perform these services for commercial drivers with diabetes.