Pre Flight Preparation for Your FAA Aviation Medical Examination Randle S. Corfman, PhD, MD Thanks for letting us help you prepare for your aviation medical examination. As a pilot, I know how important it is for you to walk out of my office with your valid FAA medical certificate in hand. In order to help make this happen, I wish to share a few thoughts with you as you prepare for the examination. First, consider preparing yourself for the examination just as you would for a flight. Just as a properly prepared approach to landing makes it much more likely that you will have a good landing so, too, does preparation for the physical make it more likely that you will have the desired outcome medical certification. What follows is a list of things to put on your personal checklist. As a new requirement by the FAA, we STRONGLY ENCOURAGE you to enter your information into MedXPress on the FAA website BEFORE your scheduled exam. a. Go to https://medxpress.faa.gov b. If needed, click on the user guide tab on the left hand side of this screen for a complete and very detailed user guide for this process. c. Click on Request an account
d. Enter in the needed information and click the submit button, you must have a valid e mail address to complete the registration.
e. A temporary password will be sent to your e mail address along with a link to complete the registration process. f. Click on the Click Here To Complete The Registration Process link in the email FAA MedXPress Registration Confirmation Dear **********: Thank you for requesting an account with the FAA MedXPress web site. The FAA MedXPress system allows anyone requiring an FAA Medical Certificate or Student Pilot Medical Certificate to electronically complete the FAA Form 8500-8. Information entered into MedXPress will be transmitted to the FAA and will be available for your AME to review at the time of your medical examination. NOTE: A medical examination by an FAA-designated Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) is required to complete the certification process. The FAA MedXPress system is not available for submission of Agency ATC exams at this time. Your MedXPress account information is: Email: ********@yahoo.com Password: 88V8AOQ4 You can return to the FAA MedXPress site by clicking on the link below. To complete the registration process, you must return to the FAA MedXPress site and log in using the account information provided in this email. When logging in for the first time, you will be required to change your password. CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE THE REGISTRATION PROCESS If the above link does not work, return to the FAA MedXPress site by copying the following link and pasting it into the address bar of your browser. Enter your e-mail address and password in the spaces provided and click the Login button. URL: https://medxpress.faa.gov/medxpress/medcert.exe/login PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL. If you need further assistance, please Contact AVS National IT Service Desk: By e-mail at: 9-NATL-AVS-IT-ServiceDesk@faa.gov (Monitored Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., CST) By phone at: 1-877-AVS-NSD1 or 1-877-287-6731 (Monitored 24/7) g. Check the box to accept the terms and click submit
h. Before you begin form 8500 8, complete the worksheet that I have attached. This will act as a guide for easy reference to your medications and medical history. i. After completing the worksheet, click on form 8500 8 on the left hand side. j. You will have 30 days to complete the information and click the submit button or your information will be lost. You will also have 60 days from the time you click the submit button to have your medical exam with your AME.
1. In completing Form 8500 8, you will be asked on item 17 to enter any medications (prescription or nonprescription) which you currently use. a. IMPORTANT: You are responsible to provide a listing of each medication, including its proper name (brand name and generic name), dosage, how often you are to take the drug, why you take the drug. For example: Microzide (hydrochlorthiazide), 12.5 milligrams once daily, for high blood pressure. b. If you take multiple medications, enter them one at a time. If you have any question about them, call your local physician and ask them to clarify this so that you can report these accurately. c. Please feel free to use the attached spreadsheet as a worksheet to have all the necessary information at hand at the time you enter data into MedXPress. 2. You will also be asked, in items 18 a through y, about your medical history. You will be asked to enter an explanation about any of the items to which you checked yes.
a. For example, if you have or ever had an asthma attack, check yes in the box e, and then list e. Asthma attack, May 2010, following a bee sting, treated by Dr. Joe Schmoe, resolved. It is important for you to write a brief explanation, because I will have to comment on each item you check yes to, and I will not be able to call you later, when Sara is entering in the data, to ask you about what the heck happened. b. You will note in the instructions for Item 18, you may note PREVIOUSLY REPORTED, NO CHANGE if and only if the explanation of the condition was previously reported on a previous application for an airman medical certificate and there has been no change in your condition. c. Please feel free to use the attached spreadsheet as a worksheet to have all the necessary information at hand at the time you enter data into MedXPress.
3. In completing item 19. Visits to Health Professional within Last 3 Years, the instructions ask you to Give date, name, address, and type of health professional consulted and briefly state reason for consultation. Do this! a. If you had multiple visits to one health professional for the same condition, you may aggregate this on one line. b. I will need this to prepare a comment for each visit you list, and Sara will have to enter this into the FAA website. Sara has great skills, but she isn t a mind reader. c. Please feel free to use the attached spreadsheet as a worksheet to have all the necessary information at hand at the time you enter data into MedXPress. 4. When you have completed the form without any validation errors, enter in your password and click Submit. a. If there are no validation errors, a screen will launch with a confirmation number that you will need to give to your AME, write down this number or print the copy that is sent to your e mail address. b. Next click on Exam Summary and print a copy of the 8500 8 form to bring with you, along with the confirmation number to your AME. This is very important to remember. c. The information will be transmitted to the FAA and available online for your AME to review at the time of your medical exam.
1. Get a good night s sleep the night before the physical. 2. Make sure you are well hydrated the night before and the day of the physical. You will need to give a urine sample, for one thing, and proper hydration makes your body work better. 3. Come to the facility early, leaving plenty of time to relax. There is a great lounge at Park Rapids Aviation where you can sit, look at aviation items, and watch airplanes take off and land. This will help your blood pressure to lower and help inoculate you against white coat syndrome. By the way, I don t wear a white coat 4. Bring any glasses you may need to successfully complete the exam. 5. Do not forget to bring a copy of form 8500 8, worksheets and your confirmation number. It is somewhat difficult to make changes to Form 8500 at the time of the examination, but changes CAN be made. It is our understanding that should you feel it necessary to change data after you have submitted Form 8500 you may go online and make necessary changes. Alternatively, if you find there are discrepancies in your submitted information, brought to light at the time of the examination, you may go online at that time to make the necessary changes. However, if you do so you must have computer access and have a means of accessing your email. To reiterate, it is important for you to know that Sara and I are responsible to accurately enter in your data into the secure FAA website. As your AME I must make a comment for every item for which you check yes. You are responsible for bringing this information with you. OK, enough of the pressure on you You will find the Park Rapids FBO a nice place to come for your examination. It is aviation city; it is relaxed and with sufficient preflight planning you will find this to be no big deal. Questions? Call Sara at 800 508 9763 or Angie at 218 237 8528 for any other information. See you in Park Rapids! Happy Flying! Randle S. Corfman, PhD, MD Final Pre Flight Physical Checklist 1. Complete MedXPress Form 8500 and submit 2. Print copy of Form 8500, bring to physical examination 3. Check email, record and print confirmation number 4. Get a good night s sleep 5. Hydrate 6. Items to bring to exam: a. Glasses (not contacts), if needed b. Copy of Form 8500 c. Confirmation number d. Photo ID