Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 12, March 22, 2024
(a) A
medical assessment shall consist of a comprehensive physical and medical
evaluation process, to include, at minimum, a document review, a thorough
physical examination, an agility test (subject to the exceptions listed in
subsection (d)(1), a toxicological test, a review of prescribed medications,
and an evaluation by the Medical Review Officer as provided by this
section.
(b) A person required by
this article to undergo a medical assessment shall provide documents to an
examining physician as part of the medical assessment.
(1) The following documents shall be
submitted within 30 days prior to the physical examination:
(A) the 719K form most recently completed for
the applicant, all supporting documentation for medical conditions and
medications requiring further review or waiver under the guidance set forth in
the Merchant Mariner Medical Manual, and, as soon as available, any
correspondence from the U.S. Coast Guard concerning the person's right to act
under the authority of the pilot endorsement to the federal merchant mariner
credential, including all waivers issued by the U.S. Coast Guard, with the
exception of waivers previously provided to an examining physician;
(B) a complete list of prescribed
medications;
(C) a complete list of
prescribed durable medical equipment;
(D) a signed Disclosure of Information form
(Version September 24, 2020), hereby incorporated by reference, setting forth
any information required by Section
1176.5(a) and (b)
of the Code; and
(E) upon the
initial medical assessment of a pilot trainee and of an applicant for an
original pilot license, and upon the annual medical assessment of both
thereafter, a signed Notice, Disclosures, and Acknowledgment and Consent to
Disclosure form (Version September 24, 2020), hereby incorporated by reference,
that (1) acknowledges having read the notice required under the Information
Practices Act of 1977 and the disclosures concerning the nature and use of the
health information obtained in the course of fitness evaluations, and (2)
consents to the disclosure of that information in connection with the fitness
evaluations and Board processes requiring review of the
information.
(2)
Submission of these documents shall be required each time a person is subject
to a medical assessment to evaluate fitness for duty.
(3) The document review shall be conducted by
an examining physician, and the results shall be used to evaluate fitness for
duty, shall be reviewed by the Medical Review Officer, and shall also, unless
otherwise provided herein, be used by the Medical Review Officer to make an
independent evaluation of fitness for duty.
(c) The physical examination shall be
conducted by an examining physician and shall include evaluation of general
patient appearance, behavior, and organ systems.
(1) Completion of the physical examination
shall be required upon any of the events listed in subsections (a)(1) through
(a)(4) of Section
217.10 and upon direction by a
Board-appointed physician under Section
217.25(a).
(2) The physical examination shall be
conducted by an examining physician chosen by the person subject to such
examination unless otherwise directed by the Executive Director or the Medical
Review Officer.
(3) The results of
the physical examination shall be used by the examining physician to evaluate
fitness for duty, shall be reviewed by the Medical Review Officer, and shall
also, unless otherwise provided herein, be used by the Medical Review Officer
to make an independent evaluation of fitness for duty.
(d) The agility test shall simulate the
physical demands of piloting and shall include the following observations:
balance, pilot ladder circuit climb, stair climbing, floor to waist lifts, a
single rope slide, and heart rate recovery after activity.
(1) Completion of an agility test shall be
required within 90 days prior to entry into the pilot trainee training program,
unless the Executive Director, for good cause shown, increases the time for not
to exceed 30 days; biennially thereafter, unless the trainee has completed an
agility test with 90 days prior to the next biennial test; within 90 days prior
to issuance of an original pilot license and biennially thereafter, unless the
trainee has completed an agility test within 90 days prior to licensure or a
pilot seeking license renewal has completed an agility test within 90 days
prior to license renewal; and upon direction of a Board-appointed physician
under Section
217.25(a).
(2) The agility test shall be conducted by a
tester who is a personal trainer, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, or
kinesiologist and who is acting under the direction of a Board-appointed
physician.
(3) The results of the
agility test shall be reviewed by the examining physician as part of the review
to evaluate fitness for duty, shall be reviewed by the Medical Review Officer,
and shall also, unless otherwise provided herein, be used by the Medical Review
Officer to make an independent evaluation of fitness for
duty.
(e) The
toxicological test shall include the U.S. Department of Transportation tests
for dangerous drugs, and also tests for the presence of anti-depressants,
anti-psychotics, anti-convulsants, barbiturates, amphetamines, benzodiazepines,
sedative hypnotics, and opiates contained in pain medication.
(1) Completion of the toxicological test
shall be required upon any of the events listed in subsections (a)(1) through
(a)(4) of Section
217.10, upon direction by a
Board-appointed physician under Section
217.25(a), and as
directed by the Port Agent under subsections (g) or (h) of Section
218.
(2) The toxicological test shall be conducted
by a laboratory certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
and selected by the Medical Review Officer.
(3) The results of the toxicological test
shall be reviewed by the examining physician as part of the review to evaluate
fitness for duty, shall be reviewed by the Medical Review Officer, and shall
also, unless otherwise provided herein, be used by the Medical Review Officer
to make an independent evaluation of fitness for duty.
(f) Except as provided in subsection (f)(2)
below, the medical assessment shall be concluded by the issuance of statements
of fitness for duty by each of the Board-appointed physicians involved. These
statements shall be submitted on the Statement of Fitness for Duty form
(Version September 24, 2020), hereby incorporated by reference.
(1) At the conclusion of the medical
assessment, the examining physician shall make a determination of fitness for
duty of the person subject to the medical assessment and shall issue a
statement of fitness for duty accordingly.
(2) The medical information compiled during
the medical assessment and the fitness evaluation made by the examining
physician shall be reviewed by the Medical Review Officer. Except in situations
in which the examining physician's determination is Not Fit for Duty, the
Medical Review Officer shall make an independent evaluation of fitness for duty
of the person subject to the medical assessment, shall complete a statement of
fitness for duty accordingly, and shall indicate whether the Medical Review
Officer concurs with the fitness determination made by the examining
physician.
(g) Except in
situations in which the examining physician's determination is Not Fit for
Duty, in which case only the examining physician must submit a Statement of
Fitness for Duty form, at the conclusion of their respective roles both in a
medical assessment and in fitness evaluations generally, both the examining
physician and the Medical Review Officer shall provide the results of their
respective evaluations to the Executive Director by stating, on a Statement of
Fitness for Duty form, one of the following possible determinations:
(1) Fit for Duty ("FFD"), which shall signify
that the person evaluated is mentally and physically qualified for duty as a
pilot or pilot trainee. That determination shall be effective until the next
event for which a medical assessment is required under Section
217.10(a), unless
the FFD determination is made effective for a shorter period.
(2) Not Fit for Duty ("NFFD"), which shall
signify that the person evaluated is mentally or physically unqualified for
duty as a pilot or pilot trainee.
(h) In the case of nonconcurrence between the
examining physician and the Medical Review Officer, the final determination of
fitness for duty shall be NFFD in situations in which one of the determinations
is NFFD. In situations in which the FFD determinations are for different
periods, the FFD determination shall be for the shorter period.
(i) The completed Statement of Fitness for
Duty shall be submitted to the Executive Director. The Executive Director shall
acknowledge receipt of a Statement of Fitness for Duty form by recording the
final determination and notifying the pilot, trainee, or applicant of the
fitness determination, using the Fitness for Duty Notification form (Version
September 24, 2020), hereby incorporated by reference.
1. New section
filed 1-24-2014; operative 4-1-2014 (Register 2014, No. 4).
2.
Amendment of section heading and section filed 7-29-2021; operative 10-1-2021
(Register 2021, No. 31). Filing deadline specified in Government Code section
11349.3(a)
extended 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-40-20.
Note: Authority cited: Section
1154,
Harbors and Navigation Code. Reference: Sections
1101,
1141,
1157,
1157.1,
1157.2,
1157.3 1157.4, 1171, 1171.5, 1176,
1176.5, 1180, 1181, 1182 and 1183, Harbors and Navigation Code.
