Tuesday, March 21, 2023
This activity is supported by a contract from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the United States Department of Transportation.
Americans love their vehicles. Whether it’s a car, truck, motorcycle, SUV, or van, we equate them with getting us to where
we want to go, and our sense of independence with being able to drive. Transportation is vital to our patients to get them
to and from medical appointments, testing, chemotherapy, dialysis, or buying groceries and medicine. The common theme for
clinicians (primary care providers, nurses, therapists, specialists, social workers, and pharmacists) is the ability of patients
to drive safely.
This site will house CME/CE-associated learning activities to facilitate the clinicians’ ability to assess for patients’ driving
challenges and risks. The activities will also discuss driving safety with potentially at-risk drivers (those older and/or
drug-impaired) and their families. Strategies are provided to enable clinicians to modify risk, when appropriate, and to address
the difficult issue of what to do if their patient is thought to be a safety risk to self and others because they continue
to drive.
The educational activity presented above may involve simulated case-based scenarios. The patients depicted in these scenarios are fictitious and no association with any actual patient is intended or should be inferred.
The material presented here does not necessarily reflect the views of Medscape, LLC, or companies that support educational programming on medscape.org. These materials may discuss therapeutic products that have not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and off-label uses of approved products. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product discussed. Readers should verify all information and data before treating patients or employing any therapies described in this educational activity.
Medscape Education© Medscape, LLC
How to address driving safety as part of the routine assessment of elderly patients.
Join clinical experts as they discuss the effect of mild cognitive impairment in older drivers and how healthcare providers
should accurately assess the ability of older adults with cognitive decline to safely operate a motor vehicle.
Recognize medical conditions that can adversely impact the driving ability of older adults and may increase the risk of an
automobile crash.
Know the effects of the legal, illegal, OTC, and prescription medications your patients are using.
When should you refer your patients who are older drivers to an OT for a comprehensive driving evaluation?
Are your older patients physically and cognitively fit to drive?
Learn how healthcare providers can identify at-risk driver and work with OTs and DRSs to improve older driver safety.
Have you thought of collaborating with state driver licensing agencies and OTs to improve older driver safety?
What medication-related effects may present driving risks for your older patients? Learn some strategies to reduce those risks.
Learn how you can use a driver planning agreement to jump-start the conversation with your older patients.
Can you identify how cognitive decline affects an older patient's driving ability?
Do you have older patients who are driving? Here’s how to keep them on the road safely or discuss driving retirement.
Resources and strategies for keeping your older patients safe on the road.
The incidence of fatal motor vehicle crashes involving older drivers spike 2-fold from age 75 to 80. Dr Ott tells how to reduce
this risk.