BasicMed Follow Up

The BasicMed exam follows a similar structure to an FAA physical with one big difference. In an FAA medical, the doctor needs to identify if body parts, organ systems and other general things such as blood pressure are: Normal or Abnormal. If the AME finds something abnormal, s/he must provide a narrative. By identifying an abnormality, the AME is making a diagnosis of sorts. In a BasicMed exam, the same body parts and organ systems only need to be examined, but not identified as normal or abnormal, thus no diagnosis is made.

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Friday, June 15, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

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Evolution owners can get support for their airplanes from the Evolution Service Network. Evolution Aircraft/Jessica Ambats

Key Takeaways:

A survey of physicians, primarily Flying Physician Association members, revealed a significant reluctance, particularly among Aviation Medical Examiners (AMEs), to perform BasicMed exams.
The main reasons for this unwillingness were concerns over liability (despite the author's argument for potentially reduced exposure compared to FAA medicals) and a perceived lack of clear medical standards for BasicMed.
The author highlights that BasicMed exams differ from FAA medicals as doctors merely "examine" rather than diagnose or treat, potentially lowering liability, and the pilot is the client.
BasicMed benefits pilots by eliminating most special issuances and promoting proactive medical care, while maintaining the critical requirement for pilots to self-certify their fitness before each flight.

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For the February 2018 issue ofIFR, I wrote “BasicMed Status Report.” In March 2018, with the help of the Flying Physician Association (FPA), I was able to conduct a survey of doctors on BasicMed and 79 members out of a membership of 531 chose to respond.

In preparing the results and considering insights from the survey, I was reminded of an old joke: A mathematician, an accountant, and a statistician were asked, “What is two plus two?” The mathematician answers directly, “Four.” The accountant ponders a moment and answers, “Well, it depends.” The statistician smiles broadly and confidently answers, “What would you like it to be?”