AS PART OF AN ASSESSMENT OF PATROL OFFICER STANDARDS AND SELECTION PRACTICES IN CALIFORNIA, A MAIL SURVEY OF THE MEDICAL STANDARDS AND DISQUALIFIERS IN USE THROUGHOUT THE STATE WAS CONDUCTED, AND SITE VISITS WERE MADE TO SEVERAL AGENCIES. IT WAS FOUND THAT TWO BASIC POLICIES FOR GATHERING AND USING MEDICAL SCREENING INFORMATION--ONE RELYING PRIMARILY ON THE PHYSICIAN AND THE OTHER RELYING MORE ON THE AGENCY OR ITS PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT--WERE IN EFFECT. A LIST OF CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING THE JOB-RELEVANCE OF SPECIFIC MEDICAL CONDITIONS WAS DEVELOPED. THE CRITERIA CONCERN INABILITY TO PERFORM REQUIRED JOB FUNCTIONS, PROBABILITY OF TIME LOSS (ABSENTEEISM, ETC.), NEED FOR EXTRAORDINARY ACCOMMODATIONS (JOB RESTRUCTURING, ETC.), SAFETY HAZARDS FOR SELF OR OTHERS, ADVERSE REACTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ENCOUNTERED ON THE JOB, AND PROBABILITY THAT DISABILITY RETIREMENT WILL OCCUR WITHIN AN UNACCEPTABLY SHORT TIME AFTER HIRING. A MASTER LIST OF 700 DISEASES LISTED AS DISQUALIFIERS BY CALIFORNIA JURISDICTIONS WAS COMPILED, AND THE DISEASES WERE CATEGORIZED INTO 20 (LATER 11) MEDICAL SPECIALTY AREAS. A PANEL OF THREE PHYSICIANS, EXPERTS IN THE AREAS OF CARDIOLOGY, ORTHOPEDICS, AND GASTROENTEROLOGY, AND TWO AGENCY REPRESENTATIVES FAMILIAR WITH THE PHYSICAL DEMANDS OF THE PATROL OFFICER'S JOB EVALUATED THE JOB-RELATEDNESS OF THE CONDITIONS IN FOUR 3-DAY MEETINGS. THE PANEL'S DECISIONS WERE RECORDED IN A STANDARDIZED FORMAT--NAME OF CONDITION, DISPOSITION (DISQUALIFYING OR NOT DISQUALIFYING), AND RATIONALE-AND INCORPORATED INTO A MEDICAL SCREENING MANUAL FOR CALIFORNIA LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. DETAILS OF THE PANEL DECISIONMAKING PROCESS AND OTHER ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT ARE PROVIDED. A BIBLIOGRAPHY, THE PERT (PROGRAM EVALUATION REVIEW TECHNIQUE) CHART THAT GUIDED THE PROJECT, AND THE CATEGORIZED LIST OF 700 MEDICAL DISEASES AND CONDITIONS ARE APPENDED. (LKM)