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dougknight

Well Known Member
My medical exam is comming due shortly and I recieved notice from my AME as a reminder. At the bottom of his postcard is a note "try using MedEXpress for paperwork".

Anybody use this before? any positive or negetive feedback available out there?

doug
9A
 
My AME uses this - in fact I'll be filling it out shortly. It's great to have the paperwork out of the way when I arrive at the office.
 
dougknight said:
My medical exam is comming due shortly and I recieved notice from my AME as a reminder. At the bottom of his postcard is a note "try using MedEXpress for paperwork".

Anybody use this before? any positive or negetive feedback available out there?

doug
9A
Click to expand...


Yes.......

If you have a good relationship with your AME, just save the application and don't submit in advance. Log on as yourself in their office and let them review the application for any potential corrections. Then submit the application to their queue.

Once you hit submit, it's part of your FAA record for good or bad.
 
Works great

2nd year for me and I just saved a copy and checked it against this years. The FAA site saves your basic data. You just have to reenter the "health" items.

I had trouble signing on this year and their phone help was outstanding..

Works good and lasts a long time.
 
I tried it & failed to notice that it said to take a copy with me to the exam (on line; no need for paper right? wrong.). The nurse wouldn't let me log in with my password, & couldn't figure out how to log in with theirs to see my record. I ended up having to call my wife, have her log in, print my form, & fax it to the Dr's office. Major pain; cost me at least an hour & almost I flunked the blood pressure test.....

Charlie
 
I used it in January for the first time, worked great, will use it again. Hope this helps.
 
I used it, made a mistake on the form couldn't correct it myself and the DR had to write an essay on why his patient is an idiot.
 
Check out AOPA Turbo Medical

You might want to check out AOPA's Turbo Medical. It offers some advantages over the FAA MedXPress. The link to the interactive form is https://www.aopa.org/members/medical/medform/.

"TurboMedical? asks the same questions as the FAA Form 8500-8, the application for Airman Medical Certificate (and Student Pilot Certificate) that you fill out to obtain and renew your medical certificate. By using this interactive form you can find out if a current medical condition, or prescription medication may be a problem with the FAA. It?s better to know beforehand, so you can take appropriate actions before your doctor visit."

"As you answer each item, your answers are checked against acceptable FAA standards. If there is a problem (for instance, if you are taking a medication that the FAA will not approve), the program will tell you. "

"After you have finished completing the form, save your answers and print a copy. Take it with you to your appointment with your medical examiner. Your AME can now submit the hard copy of TurboMedical? as a substitute for the FAA 8500-8."

"Unlike TurboMedical, MedXPress does not flag potentially disqualifying answers or provide information on what tests and hospital paperwork the FAA wants attached to applications from pilots with certain medical conditions. And once the form is submitted, pilots cannot make changes ? even to correct minor errors."

TurboMedical can be used in hard-copy form by your AME, but can't be submitted online. I use TurboMedical to validate my answers before filling out MedXPress; best of both worlds.
 
ame

As an AME I don't like it-all the above reasons are enough not to do it. If you make a mistake, big problem. No problem in the office with paper. Also, during the day sometimes the FAA websites don't work well. Then it slows everything down. Trying to unscrew errors after they are already in the hands of FAA is real chore. IMHO larry
 
lbgjb said:
As an AME I don't like it-all the above reasons are enough not to do it. If you make a mistake, big problem. No problem in the office with paper. Also, during the day sometimes the FAA websites don't work well. Then it slows everything down. Trying to unscrew errors after they are already in the hands of FAA is real chore. IMHO larry
Click to expand...

There is absolutely no reason for this level of user-unfriendliness in a system, government or no. It's trivial to create a change log that goes with any record, so that an authorized user (that's the pilot or the doc) can make changes of any kind, and enter a reason that goes along with the record.

Not having such a capability is stupid, wasteful and shows a blatant disregard for the ultimate customers...us.

Thanks for the heads-up on what NOT to use next time I get my medical.
 
It Can Work For You

Here is the process I use, a process that gives me 3 different sets of eyes AND a record of what is sent to the FAA.
  1. Fill out AOPA's TurboMed. This allows me to tap into the best that AOPA has to give and catch anything that might set off a red flag with the FAA.
  2. Once I've corrected any mistakes pointed out by TurboMed, I fill out MedXPress. However, I DON'T SUBMIT IT!
  3. During my physical, my AME logs on and makes any changes to the form. She has many years of experience working with the FAA. By the way, she likes the form, since it saves on the paperwork and her time, and encouraged us to use it this year.
  4. Finally, after the information has gone through my eyes, AOPA AND my AME, it is finally submitted.
Note: When you submit it, whether it is a paper copy by slow mail, or an online version, what is done is done. It is in the FAA's hands and can't be retracted. I really fail to see the logic or the points of the previous posts railing against this process. However, to each his own, just like homebuilding!!!!!
 
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