Collaboration with ECU HEALTH for Fitness to Drive Evaluations

Fitness to drive evaluations are provided by a collaborative program with the ROADI program.

Process:

At risk drivers can be referred by their physician, family members, self referred, and the Medical Review Program of the North Carolina DMV.

Day 1. With the referral, a Clinical IADL Risk Assessment is completed by an occupational therapist from the Outpatient Services.

  • Note: Since insurance companies (including Medicare) understand the importance of independence in the activities of daily living (ADL) and IADLs of an individual, this IADL Risk Assessment is typically covered by medical insurance.

Day 2.  Based one the results of the IADL Risk Assessment, the individual may be advised to complete the second part of the Comprehensive Driving Evaluation.

  • The includes evaluations that examine executive functioning, processing speed, and the ability to multi-task, all higher level skills critical for fitness to drive.
  • The person then typically completes an on road assessment with a skilled occupational therapist and a driving instructor from a local driving school.
  • While the occupational therapy services may still be covered by insurance, but the persong being tested must pay the driving school $125.00.

For information, call the Occupational Therapy Driver Evaluation Program at 252-847-6609; to schedule an appointment, call 252-6603, option 1, then 1.

It is important to understand this program is designed for former drivers only, not novice drivers or drivers who need vehicle modifications (e.g., hand controls).

The Medically-at-Risk Evaluation program has completed over 800 fitness to drive evaluations since 2018.

Background

Since 2018, Dr. Dickerson has collaborated with the Occupational Therapy Department at ECU Health to provide fitness to drive evaluations.  This collaboration was made possible through support from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) through the Demonstration Project for Guideline #13 Older Driver Safety .

Helen Houston, an occupational therapy specialist employed by ECU HEALTH, is the primary therapist for the Driver Evaluation Program.  In addition to providing this valuable service to Eastern North Carolina, she collaborates with Dr. Dickerson with research outcomes of the driving evaluation program and additionally provides outstanding experiences for ECU occupational therapy students.