DOT Physical Examination

Federal Law and DOT regulations state that any “covered employee” such as a CDL driver must possess a valid medical card demonstrating that they have successfully passed a DOT Physical examination and complied with all other requirements of DOT regulation part 40 to be eligible to drive. The Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires that all drivers holding a CDL license must have a DOT physical, complete a medical examination report and successfully complete all requirements of the DOT physical to be issued a CDL medical card, the card is valid for 24 months and must be renewed every 2 years with a physical.

Recommended items to bring to your DOT physical:

‍    •    Eye glasses (bring prescription)

‍    •    List of medications

‍    •    Clearance letters or physician related documentation

Persons should also be prepared to discuss with the FMCSA certified examiner your health history including past or recent illnesses or other information related to your physical exam.

Non-DOT Physicals/Evaluations (Fit-for-Duty, Executive physicals, Fitness for duty, Functional capacity evaluations (FCEs), Independent medical examinations (IMEs), Military physical exams, OSHA surveillance exams (lead, asbestos), Post-injury management, Pre-placement or post-offer exams, Return to work evaluations, Sports Physicals, Etc.)

These exams help organizations operating in safety-sensitive industries to promote safety by managing employee health risks. They also improve overall health and wellness in the workplace by assessing whether people are medically fit for the job they are performing. In some industries, such as construction, transportation, and aviation, medical fitness testing is required because employee health conditions could endanger the public.

Our comprehensive medical exam includes a full medical history and head-to-toe physical assessment. All medical exams are performed only by qualified individuals, and results are reviewed by a physician team, assuring quality and consistency. The physician determines fitness for duty, recommends additional assessments when they are needed, and advises on follow-up interventions if required. 

Mask Fit Testing

Mask fit testing assesses the degree of protection or seal of a given mask size according to the acceptable standards set out by the manufacturer. The mask fit test ensures the personal protective equipment often mandated by legislative requirements fits well enough to do its job and protect the worker from hazardous exposure. The mask fit test consists of measuring the seal of the mask during various breathing rates, head positions, and body positions as well as during speech. Your authorized representative will receive a secure and confidential report of all mask fit testing results. To ensure results are reliable, we check our equipment daily and hold our technicians to the highest standards.

Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) Clearance

Employers are obligated to ensure their people are medically cleared to wear a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). This clearance is important because the environments these devices are used in are typically very physically and physiologically strenuous. Obtaining emergency assistance in these conditions poses even more challenges. With such risks, it is critical to be certain the people you’re sending into these environments are cleared to do so medically. We understand the stakes when sending a person into such a hazardous environment, and our goal is to ensure due diligence is taken before doing so. Our SCBA certificates are not issued without sufficient evidence of medical clearance. SCBA certification requires a pulmonary function test and medical fitness exam; health questionnaires do not meet the high standards of our physician group.

AUDIOMETRIC/HEARING TESTING  FOR THE WORKPLACE

Did you know that noise-induced hearing loss is now the leading non-fatal occupational disease claim?

Preventing hearing loss through early identification by an audiogram or hearing test is a must to meet legislative requirements, but it also has other big benefits such as assessing the effectiveness of your noise exposure management system and identifying individuals with hearing limitations, which can lead to the prevention of serious incidents in the workplace.

Typically, monitoring using audiometric testing is done once prior to entry into the workplace as a baseline, then periodically at the recommended industry rate or as outlined by the legislative requirements of the province, and finally at the exit from the workplace.

Our turnkey hearing testing/audiogram service makes it easy to comply with legislation and enhance safety in your workplace. If you’re operating in multiple provinces, occupational health and safety standards require having a new baseline test completed prior to the worker going to the new site. As always, confidentiality is assured, and we maintain the health care records for the required length of time.

Audiometric Testing with Physician Review

An audiometric examination assesses a person’s ability to hear tones at various frequencies and decibels (loudness). It helps to determine the effectiveness of ear protection and the degree of hearing loss related to exposure to noise and non-occupational illness.

Our audiogram tests include documenting a comprehensive noise exposure history and determining current hearing status by checking for recent loud noise exposure and physically examining the ear canal. A technician then conducts testing at six frequencies at various decibel levels. A trusted physician will review the history and clinical information to determine testing status and provide intervention when needed. Finally, your authorized representative receives a secure and confidential report containing the results.

RESPIRATORY TESTING

Chemicals, particulate dust, or reduced oxygen in the air causes health hazards for workers. As an employer, it’s your job to eliminate exposure to these hazards if possible. Ensuring your people are wearing their protective equipment is simply not good enough. To truly protect them requires evaluating their lung function with a pulmonary function test (PFT) and the effectiveness of their protective equipment. As with all of our occupational health testing, our respiratory testing services were developed and are carried out by some of the most knowledgeable experts in the industry—so you can rely on the results. Customizable to meet your needs wherever you’re working in Canada, these services have been designed to protect employer and employee rights, ensuring that employees don’t lose employment unfairly and that employers can defend decisions when required.

Pulmonary Function Test (PFT)/Spirometry

A pulmonary function test (PFT) or spirometry measures how well the lungs take in and release air and move gases such as oxygen from the atmosphere into the body. The PFT can be used to assess the effects of toxic substances such as isocyanides on the lungs, check the suitability of wearing self-contained breathing equipment, and assess whether people are fit to occupy strenuous positions, among other things. The PFT is common in ongoing exposure surveillance programs. Our PFT includes:

‍    ▪    obtaining a blood pressure reading,

‍    ▪    documenting a comprehensive substance exposure history and health history,

‍    ▪    and determining current lung function status by checking for recent symptoms and recent exposure.

A trained technician then conducts a spirometry test to assess actual lung function. The technical equipment measures total lung volume and expiration velocity (volume over time). 

Laboratory/Clinical Testing

Elevated Safety Solutions provides confidential laboratory/blood analyzed testing services for occupational testing purposes. Testing services include physician referral, collection of the specimen, complete laboratory analysis and confidential and secure result reporting.

After your test has been analyzed by one of our national CLIA and FDA certified laboratories (Quest/ LabCorp) your results will be sent through a confidential, secure and encrypted portal to the email address that you provided. In the event that the test is non-negative, abnormal or other circumstances, a consultation with the referring physician is available.

Our laboratory testing locations provide a wide range of certified laboratory test analysis. Some test results can be affected by certain foods and medications. For this reason, people may be asked to not eat or drink for several hours before a laboratory test or to delay taking medications until after the test.