Health professionals play a key role in keeping our roads safe, including determining people’s fitness to drive.
Transport for NSW (TfNSW) has recently updated and simplified its online fitness to drive forms. GPs, specialists, optometrists and allied health professionals use the forms.
The changes include two forms replaced by 12 specialist-focused online forms. Previous assessment data now pre-populates the new forms.
There are four different medical report forms for assessing medical fitness to hold a driver licence. These are:
- NSW Fitness to Drive Medical Assessment
- Medical Specialist Fitness Assessment Report for Driver Licences
- Medical Condition Notification
- Vision/Eyesight Disorder
When submitted online, each will generate a real time response that can be shared with patients on the spot. This reduces the time and costs involved in handling, distributing and duplicating paper-based patient information.
Links to the Austroads Assessing Fitness to Drive guidelines are included in the forms. Practitioners can easily reference the links while assessing a patient. The guidelines are the Australian medical driving standards for commercial and private vehicle operators.
When health professionals complete the form online, patients will no longer need to take their paper form to a Service NSW Centre. Information submitted online will be securely and instantly transmitted to TfNSW. It will be recorded for future patient case reviews and completions.
Many practices are already using the online forms. Online submission of medical assessments is steadily increasing. Practices are helping their patients to maintain physical distancing and avoid visiting a Service NSW centre.
Online forms can be completed and submitted through a practice’s electronic medical records system. Doctors who don’t have a practice software system can still submit forms electronically. This is done via the HealthLink portal with a standard web browser.
Visit Transport for NSW for more information on accessing the forms.