On Feb. 6, the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC) and Medical Review Board (MRB) conducted a hearing to address regulatory guidance for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) for motor carriers and commercial vehicle drivers.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requested that the MCSAC and MRB jointly provide information, concepts, and ideas the FMCSA should consider in developing regulatory guidance for motor carriers, commercial vehicle drivers, and medical examiners on OSA and whether drivers with this condition should be medically certified to operate commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce. Read the proposed guidelines.  

AASM staff attended the meeting and provided comments. AASM strongly encouraged that the proposal require patients to be seen by a board-certified sleep medicine physician. AASM emphasized that board-certified sleep physicians possess the experience, knowledge and qualifications to successfully diagnose, treat and manage patients with OSA.   

AASM also provided the Committee information on our proposal to CMS regarding the Innovation Care Delivery and Management Program for Patients with OSA (ICDMPPO) and informed the Committee that the AASM has developed several didactic resources for specific industries that provide education on sleep disorders and fatigue management and information on counter measures and treatments.