Assessment and policy for commercial driver license referrals

This report describes experiences, subsequent action, and policy recommendations regarding sleep disorders assessment of veterans in relation to a commercial driver medical examiner referral. A series of 6 veterans were seen in our sleep clinic, presenting with an order from a commercial driver medical examiner (CDME) for polysomnography and/or Multiple Sleep Latency Testing (PSG/MSLT). We searched the literature for an evidence-based justification for handling this referral, and we concluded that there is neither federal policy nor current evidence to suggest that any current diagnostic test, including PSG/MSLT and/or MWT, is capable of predicting which individual drivers are at risk for fall-asleep crashes. The best indicator of risk is self-reported sleepiness, regardless of cause. Thus, we concluded that an administrative request for a "PSGIMSLT" is not a rational use of VA resources. Procedures and a policy for the Cleveland VA system were developed to respond to the request for evaluation, recognizing that sleep problems and disorders other than sleep apnea may be present in this population. An educational component was an important feature of this response. We suspect that this approach may be appropriate for managed care systems in general.