Alberta allowing nurse practitioners to complete driver medical exams

By GILLIAN SLADE on July 8, 2020.

gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade

The provincial government announced earlier this year it would no longer cover the cost of a driver’s medical exam and it will now allow nurse practitioners to do the exam in addition to family doctors.

Driver’s medial exams are required at specific intervals for drivers of a certain age, type of drivers’ licence or those with specific medical conditions.

Some family doctors are charging about $100 for a driver’s medical exam and completion of the government form, after Alberta Health stopped payment.

In this region there are only three full-time nurse practitioners with Palliser Primary Care Network (PCN), according to a spokesperson for Alberta Health. There are about 20 nurse practitioners in acute care, community health, long-term-care and specialty areas in Medicine Hat, according to Canadian Institute for Health Information data in 2018.

PCN reports there is one nurse practitioner in Medicine Hat and two in Brooks.

The News has been unable to establish what a nurse practitioner will charge for a driver’s medical exam.

Each year, about 150,000 driver’s medical exams take place and the appropriate forms are filed with Alberta Transportation.

Driver’s medical examinations are required for: Class 3, 5, 6 and 7 licences at age 75, age 80 and every two years after age 80. Class 1, 2 and 4 commercial driver’s licences require a medical exam every five years until age 45 and then every two years until age 65 after which it is required annually. Medically at-risk drivers also require driver’s medical exams.

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