August 26, 2014 — The California Chiropractic Association (CCA) announced that Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law Assembly Bill 2143, authored by Assemblyman Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara), permitting doctors of chiropractic to perform the complete physical examination for Department of Transportation (DOT) commercial drivers.
CCA was joined by Southern California University of Health Sciences and Palmer College of Chiropractic, West Campus, in actively supporting AB 2143.
“For many years, chiropractic doctors have been performing physical examinations on DOT drivers. However, there had been limitations on what could be done by the doctor, including the dipstick portion of the exam which had already been within the scope of chiropractic,” said Ken Winer, DC, chairperson of government affairs for CCA.ÂÂ “This constraint required the hardworking DOT drivers to leave the chiropractor’s office and go to a medical provider or outside laboratory to complete the exam, which placed an unnecessary time and financial burden for the DOT drivers.”
The federal government expects a shortage of providers available to perform the DOT examinations starting in May of this year, when all providers who perform the examination were required to be listed on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners (registry). DCs are authorized to perform the DOT examinations and many are quickly becoming listed on the registry and are now able to provide the entire examination in one visit and in one location.
As AB 2143 was passed and signed into law with an urgency clause, it takes effect immediately.
“We are grateful for Assemblyman Williams’ leadership and Governor Brown’s recognition that California’s doctors of chiropractic have been provided a CLIA Waiver for the urine dipstick tests required by the DOT,” Winer added. “Doctors of chiropractic are often able to schedule these exams more quickly and are often more cost efficient than many other providers.”
Established in 1928, CCA is a Sacramento-based statewide, nonprofit organization of chiropractic doctors and allied industries. Learn more at www.CalChiro.org.
