Flight Medical Consult - no FAA form yet

[Marc B]

Hi all,

I am going to be a new pilot (starting training for PPL very soon) and having read so many horror stories regarding medical application and issues with the FAA I was getting nervous I would fill something out incorrectly, that maybe I didn't even need to disclose!

I contacted a doctor office today, which was recommended by the flight school I will be starting with tomorrow. The doctor is a long time pilot in addition to her primary work as health provider.
After explaining to the person on the phone that I was looking to get advice and suggestions from the doctor first, before ever filling in the FAA form, they explained the doctor has a Flight Consult appointment type available, which is a 15 minute conversation in person with the Doc, and this should be able to answer all my questions about HOW to fill in the FAA form.

We booked this appointment and I'll see the flight doc on Tuesday. I think an extra $150 is nothing at all for me, if it gives me the confidence that I'm only entering exactly what should be needed on the FAA form, and nothing more, while still providing exactly any medical conditions I currently have.

Thank goodness the doc is able to hopefully help walk me through how to fill in the form and give exactly what the FAA wants to see!

Hopefully this will result in the medical certification being a smooth process.

Thanks for posting your experiences with medical! It helped motivate me to reach out to an AME first, before even signing in to the FAA portal.

Cheers
~Marc

 

[frfly172]

It’s always better to be prepared before going for your medical.a flight consult is always a good thing.

 

[Lindberg]

You're on the right path. You might want to take a look at the form, and possibly even fill it out, just so you have a framework for the consult. If you don't want to do the online version, you can find copies of the older paper version, search Google for "8500-8".

 

[Marc B]

It’s always better to be prepared before going for your medical.a flight consult is always a good thing.

Absolutely, I tend to over-prepare, this time I feel its in good faith.

You're on the right path. You might want to take a look at the form, and possibly even fill it out, just so you have a framework for the consult. If you don't want to do the online version, you can find copies of the older paper version, search Google for "8500-8".

Good suggestion! I'll google up the PDF version of the form, and read it over carefully and fill it out preliminarily for the Consult doc to review it there, rather than just my verbal explanation of things. Thanks!

 

[lbfjrmd]

or ... log into your med express and you and the doctor can review it together. I do so and with the airman's permission we tidy it up, complete it and then do the exam.

 

[Palmpilot]

The MedXpress user guide might be useful:

https://medxpress.faa.gov/medxpress/Content/Docs/MedXPressUsersGuide.pdf

 

[Marc B]

or ... log into your med express and you and the doctor can review it together. I do so and with the airman's permission we tidy it up, complete it and then do the exam.

Well that's the thing, I don't want to enter any information into an FAA system, before reviewing the proper information that should be entered according to an experienced AME. Trying to avoid causing the FAA from requesting tests and proof of something I never even needed to put down.

The MedXpress user guide might be useful:

https://medxpress.faa.gov/medxpress/Content/Docs/MedXPressUsersGuide.pdf

Thanks! I'll tab this out and read through it, as well.

 

[Marc B]

Wow, I'm assuming things like "Employer" are optional to fill in... That would have nothing to do with my health and capabilities to operate an airplane.

 

[Greg Bockelman]

I don’t think anything is optional.

 

[Marc B]

I don’t think anything is optional.

Yeah, probably not, but I read a little more on those questions and it appears they're expecting the answers to be along the lines of: 'pilot', 'ATC', 'Instructor', etc. So Employer name will have to be 'Nunya Business'

 

[Greg Bockelman]

It is all face value. If you are an underwater basket weaver you put that in the appropriate box, if your employer is “Baskets R Us”, you put that in the appropriate box.

If you get cute with the answers, you quite possibly incur more scrutiny than you bargain for.

 

[Palmpilot]

Wow, I'm assuming things like "Employer" are optional to fill in... That would have nothing to do with my health and capabilities to operate an airplane.

I searched the document for the word "employer" and found the following:

If you look at Section 8 of the attached excerpt, you can see that you will only be asked that question if you state that you are taking the exam because it is required by your employer, and even then, they don't ask for the name of the employer unless it's FAA/DOT.

It also states that the purpose is "to determine the appropriate form 8500-8 questions to display and complete..."

 

[Marc B]

It is all face value. If you are an underwater basket weaver you put that in the appropriate box, if your employer is “Baskets R Us”, you put that in the appropriate box.

If you get cute with the answers, you quite possibly incur more scrutiny than you bargain for.

Yep exactly, avoiding undue scrutiny is the main goal with all this, anyway. I'll enter what is needed as required.

I searched the document for the word "employer" and found the following:

If you look at Section 8 of the attached excerpt, you can see that you will only be asked that question if you state that you are taking the exam because it is required by your employer, and even then, they don't ask for the name of the employer unless it's FAA/DOT.

It also states that the purpose is "to determine the appropriate form 8500-8 questions to display and complete..."

Thank goodness that is the case, and there's some level of 'dynamic questions' that'll be presented only in certain scenarios.

 

[Greg Bockelman]

I searched the document for the word "employer" and found the following:

If you look at Section 8 of the attached excerpt, you can see that you will only be asked that question if you state that you are taking the exam because it is required by your employer, and even then, they don't ask for the name of the employer unless it's FAA/DOT.

"

I guess I learned something. I’ve been doing this since long before MedXpress and never noticed that before.

 

[Palmpilot]

I guess I learned something. I’ve been doing this since long before MedXpress and never noticed that before.

It's nice having the instructions in electronic form, because it makes it easy to do a search when a particular question comes up.

I'm guessing that there must have been some other way of handling the decision tree before MedXpress was introduced.

 

[Marc B]

Update on this topic:
It actually is a very good thing to book a Flight Consult with an AME before starting to fill out the MedXPress forms.
I have a condition that seemed absolutely normal but within the questions on the form.
I was advised to obtain a letter from my treating doctor explaining status, hitting specific phrases and detail about my everyday life.
Had this not been suggested I would have showed up to the exam day without that letter and have to potentially go through a much longer process.

Also asked about specific meds, and if meds are changed which ones to avoid.
So much clarity was provided about my specific concerns, and now I am much more assured that on the day of my medical exam I'll be walking out with a certificate in hand, rather than hoping I'll get approved by the FAA in 2 months or maybe longer...

Preparation is what we do as pilots, right?
Anyway, if you need to have answers about how to fill out this form before you actually fill it out, the cost of a consult is more than paid for itself already.

 

[bbchien]

That is how to do it!!

 

[Marc B]

Another update on this one:
After the consult and guidance from the AME 2 weeks ago, I contacted another Dr I see for a specialty issue. They provided a letter within 48 hours with the exact wording recommended in the FAA paper the AME gave me. Yesterday I had my actual flight medical appointment with the AME, they had to make a phone call to the FAA today to confirm something. This afternoon they called, I came down and they handed me my Class 3 Medical certificate!
I'm good to go indefinitely!
On to my training and not worrying about wasting money if I couldn't get my medical afterall.
I'm stoked beyond explanation.
Looking for ways to find a hangar and planning for the future haha!

 

[guest user]

Congrats on successfully completing your Class 3 exam. This is a big step.

Unless you plan to fly professionally, you are now clear to go to BasicMed and not really have to worry about the small 'gotchas' from a future AME visit.

(For those who will bring it up, there are still some things that require an SI even with BasicMed, but if you passed your Class 3 it will not be an issue for now)