Medical records

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TRC1969

Pre-takeoff checklist
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I have been reading a lot about medical
Records and the FAA having access to those records for whatever reason. Can someone clear this up for me? And how big of an incident does it take to trigger a deep dive. Obviously if you land on the taxiway (Harrison Ford) they are going to look but what about minor things. Just wondering? Thanks
 
They can’t just arbitrarily access your records. You have to provide them. But there has been conversation about the FAA and department of Veterans Affairs sharing records. It seems that certain airman were collecting disability for certain issues that would be disqualifying for a medical certificate, but telling the FAA that they don’t have the issue. That has landed a few airman with criminal penalties. So there is that.

A simple oversight is not a big issue if it’s accidental. But intentional misrepresentation is a big issue.


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But here is where are you going to run into an issue. If you do not disclose the condition that you have, and the FAA request information on another issue, they may very well discover the undisclosed issue.

Here’s what happened with me. I had a medical condition that the FAA sent me a request for information on. Along with that request, they asked for information related to my prescription history. I provided that to them, and then they asked for three years of medical records. In those medical records, they had an issue with a surgery that I had. This resulted in a special issuance, but luckily for me, I disclosed the surgery at my medical appointment. So it was a non issue. Had I not disclosed that, I suspect it would have resulted in a deeper dive into my medical history.


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I know complete honesty is the wise and prudent thing to do. I have my pre-exam with my AME tomorrow and I will tell him everything (head injury 2012). I’m perfect now but the hoops to jump through, wow! Just so much expense and time with testing that from what I can read is borderline foolishness. It just seems funny you can fly LSA with no medical, it’s still an airplane, its still 10000 ft, but for a Cessna 172 or Cirrus you must have a medical. I get it if your looking to fly IFR but seems that a single engine VFR scenario shouldn’t require a class 3 medical.
 
TRC1969 said:
I know complete honesty is the wise and prudent thing to do. I have my pre-exam with my AME tomorrow and I will tell him everything (head injury 2012). I’m perfect now but the hoops to jump through, wow! Just so much expense and time with testing that from what I can read is borderline foolishness. It just seems funny you can fly LSA with no medical, it’s still an airplane, its still 10000 ft, but for a Cessna 172 or Cirrus you must have a medical. I get it if your looking to fly IFR but seems that a single engine VFR scenario shouldn’t require a class 3 medical.
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You can fly a C172 with basic med. As long as the airplane is certificated for fewer than 6 passengers and is under 6000 pounds gross, you don’t need a medical.


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ttexrbomb said:
But here is where are you going to run into an issue. If you do not disclose the condition that you have, and the FAA request information on another issue, they may very well discover the undisclosed issue.
Click to expand...

That's the thing with the FAA. They can see everything.

If you are old enough that you once visited the village barber, who treated you with leaches to relieve 'bad humours', they'll find that record. And they'll subject you to a very long and expensive process of proving to them that your 'humours' are now fine and you are off the leaches.
 
ttexrbomb said:
You can fly a C172 with basic med. As long as the airplane is certificated for fewer than 6 passengers and is under 6000 pounds gross, you don’t need a medical.
Click to expand...

A 172? Heck, you can fly a lot more than that as long as it only has 4 seats or less in the back. The Piper Matrix comes to mind. A first generation TBM 700 is only about 500 lbs too heavy.
 
I’m just frustrated with the whole medical process.I understand that if your heart health is questionable you probably should be checked throughly, but proving that a long ago health issue no longer affects your ability to fly seems like simple government over reach. Hell medicine has along pretty far in the last 30 years. It seems like the AME exam should carry more weight than it does. Seems like the FAA worries a lot about what was instead of what is.
 
Ha, as you know... we are both head trauma folks. To be honest though, I wish the FAA could just click a button and see the relevant records. I am still some months away from submission, but the amount of paper I have already retrieved has been quite the feat. There are still more to get, so it's a pain.
 
TRC1969 said:
I’m just frustrated with the whole medical process.I understand that if your heart health is questionable you probably should be checked throughly, but proving that a long ago health issue no longer affects your ability to fly seems like simple government over reach. Hell medicine has along pretty far in the last 30 years. It seems like the AME exam should carry more weight than it does. Seems like the FAA worries a lot about what was instead of what is.
Click to expand...

There is no good evidence that this entire FAA aeromedical process for GA pilots improves aviation safety at all. Some to say maybe it does and some to say it does not matter.

The system grew out of the military screening for the best pilot candidates in WWI and was adopted by the CAA without too much thought and has continued until today without much serious testing of this hypothesis. Also has grown more intrusive and bloated over the years.

At least basic med was a big improvement and will yield some important data. But presently one just has to go through the system...
 
ttexrbomb said:
You can fly a C172 with basic med. As long as the airplane is certificated for fewer than 6 passengers and is under 6000 pounds gross, you don’t need a medical.


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Click to expand...

I think B Med. requires having had a prior FAA medical.
 
Head trauma is certifiable ... and yes there will be some hoops. And witholding info can expose you to civil litigation too.
 
The truth is that "access" is probably a crapshoot. I visited a community hospital ER last year and wanted the records before my medical because they were actually exculpatory. They literally could not produce them, less than six months after my visit. I had to get the state involved to make them locate my records. The FAA never would have found those. OTOH, I recently got a new PCP, and the first-visit history taking involved the nurse putting my name and birthdate into the computer and then rattling off every prescription I've been given and every diagnosis I've recieved for the past some years. The FAA has equal access to that.
 
Well for what it’s worth I start the process today at 3 pm with my pre-exam consultation. My health is great but my medical history is the issue. I feel confident it will ultimately lead to approval but I know there will be expensive tests and a massive amount of paperwork to get together. And I’m already finding out that medical records are just simply not there for the gathering. It’s takes some effort to get your own records.
 
TRC1969 said:
Well for what it’s worth I start the process today at 3 pm with my pre-exam consultation. My health is great but my medical history is the issue. I feel confident it will ultimately lead to approval but I know there will be expensive tests and a massive amount of paperwork to get together. And I’m already finding out that medical records are just simply not there for the gathering. It’s takes some effort to get your own records.
Click to expand...
One step at a time. You're doing the right thing by starting with a consult. Don't worry about gathering your records until the AME tells you what you need. I took 20 years off of flying because I thought I wouldn't get a medical. When I finally went in for a consult, what I thought would be the issue was not an issue (in part because of time), and something else was. But if it's old history and not affecting you today, you should be able to jump through some hoops and get past it.
 
You are absolutely correct. He said he sees no reason why I won’t get cleared. He laid out a plan of what we do prior to the actual exam and then what we do the day of the exam and what we may have to do after. That part depends on what the FAA may want to see. Obviously there are a few hoops to jump through but all will be well.
 
TRC1969 said:
You are absolutely correct. He said he sees no reason why I won’t get cleared. He laid out a plan of what we do prior to the actual exam and then what we do the day of the exam and what we may have to do after. That part depends on what the FAA may want to see. Obviously there are a few hoops to jump through but all will be well.
Click to expand...
From your description, you found a good one who knows how to go about it and not attach you to another object by an incline plane wrapped helically around an axis.
 
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