Online FAA Medical Form 8500-8

[Piloto]

I got in the mail a note from an AME indicating that the application medical form 8500-8 has to be filled online at www.medxpress.faa.gov . Is this a must now? What is the advantage or benefits. Anyone with experience on this. There is about 40 pages of instructions on the website on how to fill the form. And I though the IRS 1040 form was complicated!

 

José 

[ArtVandelay]

Yes, and if you go to the Dr without doing it, you will either have to reschedule or fill it out online and wait for the computers to do their thing, whole process took me ~30mins.

[carusoam]

I think it is the old form. Just in electronic format...?

Should be a time saver for the ame, once you get past the original reading exercise...

Should eliminate a bunch of common errors.

The same challenges of mis-answering certain questions will occur.

Elimination of the 3rd class medical is nearing???

Best regards,

-a-

[bonal]

Used it 2 years ago and will be doing so next month. You select you're examiner and after you complete the form it gets logged and when you go for your exam they pull it right from the data base and it's all completed in advance. Worked ok but I think it's more about tracking our actions and history. Just sayin.

[Mooneymite]

The good thing about it is that most info stays on the form (in the database) until you change it.  Once you've done it the first time, subsequent submissions are really quick, unless a lot of your personal information has changed.

 

Caveat:  If you enter something wrong, it will stay wrong until corrected and it may delay your doctor's submission to the FAA.  (Ask me how I know!)

[bonal]

That's good to know should be a snap this time round.

[Bob - S50]

I've been using it for several years and I have to get a medical every 6 months.

 

The form is in fact the same as the paper form.

 

Some information is saved and some isn't.  Basically it saves your name and address. It does not save any of the medical information.

 

When you have filled it out you submit it.  Once it has been submitted, ...you... cannot change anything, but don't worry, nothing is permanent.  You then get a confirmation number that you will need.  I print both the page with the confirmation number and the form itself.  I then take both to my AME.  Using the confirmation number your AME can call up the form and ...they... can correct any errors you may have made before it gets submitted to the FAA.

 

Works well.  Don't worry.

 

Bob

[Seth]

Yes - you have to go the online route now. 

 

-Seth

[John Pleisse]

Not to be paranoid, but eventually, it will merge with the ACA madate for shared digital medical files (my primary has already converted my life story to digital format and I have two other specialists who have access)..... and AME's will have access to your primary medical file.......no more little white lies.

[jlunseth]

I have used the online form twice now.  It is not too bad, fairly quick to fill it out.  The ringer is that once you fill it out, you need to then print it out and bring it to your exam.  At least, that is what my AME wanted.  Not a big deal.

[flyboy0681]

I thought this was standard fare for the past couple of years. I took my medical in March and had the entire online portion filled out in less than 10 minutes. My last physical was performed by an icon of an AME down here in Ft Lauderdale, "Dr George" Perraud. Unfortunately he passed a way (at age 90) a few weeks after my visit from cancer. When I saw him he was as sharp as one could be, even going over some of his WWII experiences. The South Florida aviation community will really miss him because his practice was strictly FAA medicals. Every inch of the (dingy) waiting room was filled with aviation related posters, magazines and memorabilia. His clientele consisted of 99% airline pilots and his staff had a way of scheduling so you were in and out in less than an hour.

 

I don't want to get into a heated exchange on privacy, but electronic medical records are the way to go. I've experienced them a few times over the past couple of years when having to visit specialists that had them in place. No more going to go to one doc to pick up charts, labs and radiology. The second doc brought up all of the information (including X-rays and MRI) instantly and reviewed the case even before arrival at his office. What a pleasure. But to correct N4352H, Electronic Medical Records are not a part of ACA as the legislation was signed into law a year before ACA, in 2009. 

 

 

 

[flyboy0681]

2) You will get a number once you submit it that your AME will need to retrieve it ... so BE SURE to save that number.

 

Dave is correct on this. If you show up without the number then you will more than likely be asked to go home.