AircraftOwner Online

MedXPress is the FAA’s new system that allows pilots and student pilots to input their normal flight physical into an electronic database.  In the past, pilots would have to hand fill out the 8500-8 medical certificate form and then, the AME would have to type it into the system.  MedXPress now allows for the pilot to input this data directly saving time and insuring accuracy.  There are some “got ya’s” so read on!

A pilot starts the process by finding the site which is not necessarily an easy task. The easiest way to find MedXPress is to Google it or by remembering https://medxpress.faa.gov (don’t forget the https://). All the common browsers will work with the system except Chrome which I am sure will in the future.

During the first site visit, an account will need to be set up and a password established. The FAA will send you a temporary password which you will need to use to log immediately back in the system to change to a self chosen password explained below.

The account name is your Email address but the password has to be between eight and twelve characters containing three of the four character groups (upper case, lower case, numerals, and non alphabetic characters). Since most of us do not have a regular password that meets these criteria, I use my month and year of birth (e.g. August2010). There is a mechanism for recovery of a lost password but you will have to answer three security questions correctly to do it! You will also be locked out of the system for 15 minutes if you enter the wrong password three times.

Fill out the 8500 form as you normally would. Just remember, if it does not allow you to input some data, you have not checked something above it correctly. For instance, if you do not check “yes” for “Do you currently take any medicine…,” you will not be allowed to enter any drugs.

If you are not sure of what you should put down, you can call an AME or save you work and complete it later. You have 30 days to finish an application or it will disappear from the system. If you do put something down that is incorrect for whatever reason, your AME can correct the mistake but he must explain why the change was made. Thus, if you put down that you use heroin and then tell the AME is was a mistake, his explanation might appear “interesting.”

When you finish the form, the system will give you a number. Print out or write this number down. DO NOT LOSE THIS NUMBER. Take the number with you to your AME exam. Without the number, the AME will not be able to import
your data.

You have 60 days from the time your form is submitted to see your AME. During that time period, your form is in electronic “never, never land” and will evaporate in 60 days. If you do not see your AME in 60 days, you will have to re-enter all the data.

What if you have put something in the 8500 that you decide you did not want to put down on paper? Before giving your AME the MedXPress confirmation number, you can discuss the issue with him. If you decide that you do not want the data to become part of your record, do not give the AME the confirmation number. Your data will disappear in 60 days and you can do it all over again. However, it the AME is given the number, the data will be in your file forever.

Technical help with the MedXPress site can be obtained via Email at 9-NATL-AVS-IT-ServiceDesk@faa.gov (got to love those easy government addresses) or by calling 877-287-6731. 

 I was diagnosed with rheumatic fever when I was five years old. When I was in medical school studying rheumatic fever, I just did not remember having all the signs and symptoms described in the text books. I searched my hospital records on microfilm and realized I never had rheumatic fever and confirmed that with my pediatrician who was fortunately still in practice. However, it was an incredible chore to get this mis-diagnosis off my medical record but absolutely hell to get off my medical and life insurance records.

    Now think what would have happened with the FAA! I would have probably been required to have a cardiology consultation, an echocardiogram, and other expensive testing to prove a negative. In addition to money, it would take a lot of time and paperwork collection.

    I have pilots come into my office on a regular basis carrying diagnoses on their record for conditions they have never experienced. Seizures are a classic example.

    Many people pass out when they see blood and many times, will jerk their arms and legs for a short period during the brief unconscious period. Non medical observers may report this as a seizure and unfortunately, this may become part of a medical record. However, it is incumbent on any treating physician to ask the appropriate questions to insure that it was a seizure as opposed to a “vasovagal” reaction that many do experience when they see blood. Those questions may be simple ones like “was the person confused when they came to” (in medical terms, was there a post ictal period). If there was no post event confusion, it is unlikely to have been a seizure. However, if it goes into the record as even a possible seizure, driving ability may be in jeopardy and flying is out.

    Physicians may or may not understand the importance of certain diagnosis on pilots. There is, for instance, a big difference between a “bad headache” and a true “migraine headache.” A true migraine syndrome is usually disqualifying for flight. Once “migraine” is in the pilots’ medical record, he may have to spend lots of time and money to prove that he does not have migraines.

    Depression is another common diagnosis that is thrown around by physicians without attention to the collateral damage it may cause. When your family doctor says to take this Prozac because “it will make you feel better during your divorce,” look out because you will feel worse because you are grounded.

    How do you avoid miss and over diagnosis? Always ask your doctor if they are sure of the diagnosis enough to testify at your NTSB appeal hearing. That usually gets them thinking about the potential consequences.

    Pilots may also call their AME and ask if the medication that has been recommended is copasetic with the FAA. I recently had a pilot ask me about a medication that was recommended for a non hearing affecting ringing in his ears. The medication was a tri-cyclic antidepressant and is used in this case to “calm” the auditory nerve. If he had consented to the medication, he would be grounded. When he stopped the medication, he would have to prove it was not for depression by providing medical records and a letter from the treating physician at a minimum.

    From a medical record point of view, George Orwell is alive and well. Unless you pay cash for every visit at any individual medical office or facility and never tell any insurance company about those visits, those encounters will all show up at some point in a national data bank when you buy medical or life insurance. (Not giving the correct Social Security number and birth date helps as well.) Once in the data bank, every insurance company you apply to will have opportunity to see the records.

    Are there people out there who do this? Absolutely. If they get caught by an insurance company, their claims could be denied. Do they get caught if they do it right? Not very often.

    What about those folks who do not report medical issues to the FAA?  Since that is a federal offense, it is more than a denial of an insurance claim. It is a potential fine and jail time. Do people omit items on their FAA medical? All the time. Do they get caught? Rarely. Is it worth the risk? You will have to answer that question for yourself.