You’ve become a registered Medical Examiner (ME) in the National Registry to expand your practice. Now the challenge is growing it.

With over 20 years of experience performing, promoting, and teaching DOT physicals, I’ve learned what works when building a successful DOT medical practice. The first step? Understanding what’s most important to truck drivers.

Whether you’re adding DOT exams to your current services or launching a new practice, attracting drivers can be tough. How do you get your name out there? Where should you advertise? And how do you keep momentum when most drivers only need a physical every two years?

This article will answer those questions and share proven strategies to help you grow your DOT medical practice with confidence.

What Truckers Care About

Commercial drivers prioritize cost, convenience, and efficiency when choosing a clinic. They look for affordable exams, fast service, same-day or walk-in availability, and easy parking for commercial vehicles. Because they spend most of their time on the road, extended hours, minimal wait times, and access to additional services are especially important. Creating a driver-friendly experience that meets these needs builds loyalty, encourages referrals, and supports long-term growth.

Improve Your Online Presence

You could have the perfect location, friendliest staff, cheapest rate, and most efficient process but fail to gain any business because nobody is discovering you. You need more clients than just those few who drive past your practice regularly.

Web Presence

In today’s digital world, being on the internet is everything. People use the internet to answer questions, shop for clothes, get directions, and find a doctor. If you want to be the DOT-certified provider they find, you need:

• A DOT-specific advertising website that shows who you are and what you do. Be sure to include information on the services your ideal clients will search for so you come up in their search results.
• Get that website to appear on the first page of Google and other search engines (because people rarely look past page one)
• Make sure your website works and displays well. A poor website reflects poorly on you and your practice. You may want to consider hiring an expert to handle the website and content optimization so you can focus on what you do best.

Google My Business Account

Having a Google My Business listing is a free service Google provides. Adding specific services you offer such as “medical examiner” and “physical examination center” will allow your business to appear in local listings for drivers who are wanting to get a DOT Physical.

Social Media

Start interacting with your ideal clientele online through social media. Social media is more hands-on. Facebook, for example, ranks posts according to the interest you’ve shown in the topic, how much you engage with similar material, and how much engagement the article or post gets from Facebook users in general. Putting the article out is good, but you need people to interact with your site more often than twice a month before Facebook’s algorithm starts putting you at the top of user feeds.

Streamline Your DOT Physicals with a DOT Exam Software

Using a DOT physical exam software such as Simple Physical will help to streamline the DOT physical exam process and increase efficiency.

Add Drug and Alcohol Testing to Your Practice

Combining drug and alcohol testing with DOT physicals creates a synergistic relationship. Drivers are already coming to your office for their physical exam, why not provide them a one-stop shop?

Learn about the requirements for the DOT Urine Specimen Collector Training and Certification.

• Motor Carriers and Drivers are required to be in a randomized Alcohol and Drug Testing program
• 50% of drivers are randomly selected for drug testing yearly. This does not include pre-employment, post-accident, reasonable suspicion, and other instances.
• Only takes 10 minutes
• Can be performed by staff

 Learn more about starting your own DOT drug testing business.

Offer a Randomized Drug & Alcohol Testing Consortium Service

All active CDL drivers are required to participate in a DOT Drug & Alcohol Testing Program. These drivers must register with a Consortium/Third-Party Administrator (C/TPAs) and participate in their randomized testing pool. By offering consortium services or partnering with a third-party administrator, your clinic becomes their compliance partner, securing ongoing recurring revenue.

Click [Here] to learn more about the consortium process.

Final Thoughts

Building a loyal client base and a steady stream of new clientele will take some time. Start now and work the system until it works for you. Speed, convenience, and efficiency are top priorities. Drivers want a one-stop shop where they can get all the testing done simultaneously rather than booking multiple appointments. You may want to hire help to get your website and social media advertising up and running. Use your network to cut costs, stay compliant, and get referrals.

 Finally, with all this focus on growing your practice, it’s easy to let your own well-being take a back seat to the demands of the job. Here are some tips for creating a work-life balance as a busy DOT medical examiner.