I just wanted to clarify what the terms certification and re-certification vs follow-up mean with regards to the following situations:
1. On the Medical Report Form, there are three boxes at the top with these three designations. In our clinic, some are saying that the only time the “New Certification” box should be checked is when the driver has his/her very first DOT physical. Therefore, the “New Certification” box would be checked only once in the driver’s lifetime. From that point forward, every subsequent DOT physical would be considered a “re-certification.”
Others say that every re-certification period would be considered a new certification and therefore the “New Certification” box should be checked for every renewal. In this context, the term “re-certification” would be used only if for example that a driver had stage 2 hypertension and only qualified for a 3-month certificate. Then when he/she comes back in 3 months, then and only then would you check the “re-certification” box at the top of the Medical Report Form. If this is the case, then when would you check the box that states “follow-up”?
2. When looking at section 5 on the Medical Report Form which addresses blood pressure/pulse rate; under the 4th column, the heading states “re-certification.” Isn’t the intended meaning here “Follow-up” rather than “re-certification?”
I think what happens many times is when the re-certification box is checked at the top of the Medical Report Form, then it may seem to some medical providers that this driver now falls under the “re-certification” column in section 5 of the Medical Report Form. So lets say for example that a driver with hypertension comes in for his/her routine annual certification (I’m still not sure whether we call this a NEW certification or a RE-certification), and lets say that he has a blood pressure of 168/84 (consistent with stage 2 HTN).
If the box at the top of the Medical Report Form is checked as a “New Certification,” then under column 3 of section 5 of the form, where the column heading states “expiration date,” this patient would pass for 3 months. If the box at the top of the Medical Report Form is checked as a “Re-certification,” then under column 4 of section 5 of the form, where the column heading states “Re-certification” it indicates that he would only pass if BP was less than or equal to 140/90, in which case this driver would not pass.
Would you please clarify these terms? For example, does the term “re-certification” under section 1 at the top of the Medical Report Form mean the same thing as the term “re-certification” does under section 5 of the form?
Please help us set the record straight on this.
This illustrates a subtlety in the term “re-certification” as used on the DOT exam form. In the box in the upper right of the form, a new certification is the very first for a commercial driver. All subsequent exams are re-certifications.
In section 5 of the exam relating to hypertension, the expiration date column refers to the first time any driver is found to be hypertensive, whether he/she is a new certification or a recertification.
The Recertification column here in section 5 refers to a driver who is now re-certifying after he/she has already first been certified with hypertension
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