JetMed

Medical Certification to keep you flying

The good health and clear-thinking of the aviator is a conerstone of flying.

Sure, you know that, but can getting a Medical Certification be straight-forward with minimal hassle?

Yes! But that depends…on you and your Aviation Medical Examiner (AME)

The fact is that nationally more than 98% of aviators get medical clearance.

Sadly, though, a huge portion suffer avoidable delays, needless costs and countless hassles getting it — largely because they don’t have a thorough, attentive and proactive AME working with and for them.

Probably a more important question though is, do I have the health as well as the medical knowledge that’ll make sure I’m safe to fly?

Dr. Rita Dodge devotes an encompassing and proactive approach to your flight physical to help you get your “medical” as smoothly as possible and also to help you answer and be confident in that most important second question.

Your flight physical is not a “glorified high school sports physical so ‘Coach’ will let you play”. If you’ve had a flight physical in the past that felt like that and took something like 20-30 minutes, then you’ve had a major disservice…

Yes, your flight physical does have that medical history and physical exam component to help make sure your body is safe to fly, but that’s only the half of it. You need to have the medical knowledge and guidance to help make sure your “mind” is safe to fly as well. That’s where the other half of your flight physical comes in: guidance and teaching.

Without this second part, “you’ll be flyin’ blind”. Dr. Dodge spends a lot of time and effort at your physical to guide you on any medical conditions, teach on safe medication use, inform you about outside pilot safety and medical resources, and to answer all your questions.

PREVENTION, PROACTION & EFFICIENCY

We encourage and guide you in gathering needed medical info before your exam. With that, Dr. Dodge prepares for your exam and has all the needed info for the time of your exam. Her proactive focus as well as taking the extra time for direct phone advocacy to the FAA usually makes all the difference.

Her emphasis is two-fold:

1) keeping aviators “cleared for the option” you want the first time and keeping you out of the medical “holding pattern” that stems from exam deferrals to the FAA for lack of needed info.

2) making sure you have the medical knowledge about your health, how to improve it if needed, and how to prevent any medical or medication issues that’ll endanger you, your passengers and anyone on the ground.

THOROUGHNESS & QUALITY

Her flight physicals are scheduled for one hour — allowing less time is usually cutting corners or “medical theater make-believe”. You, your family and your passengers wouldn’t tolerate your mechanic cutting corners on your plane, helicopter or balloon; so likewise neither should you tolerate your AME cutting corners on the most important part of flight: you!

CONVENIENCE & ATTENTION

Dr. Dodge structures her schedule so flight physicals are as convenient as possible. Aviators can have their physical usually this week or next, including Saturdays. This includes the rare times when a follow-up exam is needed.

We are available to aviators through online self-scheduling, phone, texts, emails and document uploads. You can expect prompt responses however and whenever you contact us.

SERVICES

Class 1 Flight Physicals

With and without ElectroCardioGram (ECG) testing per FAA requirements

Class 2 Flight Physicals

Class 3 Flight Physicals

Consultation and Advocacy for more complex needs

Dr. Dodge can provide consultation and guidance outside of the flight physical visit on what additional information/documents the FAA will need for your certification and how to obtain those. She can also contact the FAA for any needed clarification and to advocate on your behalf to expedite certification if possible. A small fee for the time involved will be charged.

Medical documents scan and upload to FAA

If you find you need to submit medical or other documents to the FAA in support of your medical certification, we can upload those direcly to your file at the FAA. Just let us know. Digital uploads avoid the hassles and cost of mailing paper packets and massively speeds up getting your documents not only to the FAA, but also into their process stream. A small fee for the time involved and pages handled will be charged.

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About

Book Appointment

then treat yourself to santa fe, NM!

Rita Dodge, MD, AME

Dr. Rita Dodge is a board certified Family Medicine physician and a certified Senior Aviation Medical Examiner. She is owner and CEO of Sastun Family Medicine in Santa Fe, New Mexico. JetMed is the name of her practice’s focused service to aviators.

She has practiced full-spectrum and evidence-based Family Medicine for over 20 years — from delivering babies to end-of-life care of older patients and nearly everything for everyone in between. She is fluent in English, Spanish and American Sign Language.

Dr. Dodge has spent her career caring for and seeing her patients as whole persons, not restrictively as body parts or disease states.

She practices thoroughly and attentively with the understanding foremost that her patients’ best health must consider the whole self — physical, emotional, social and environmental — and is centered on preventive care to avoid the suffering and cost of “fix it” care if possible. Ignoring any of these cornerstones, is likely the medical equivalent of ignoring the stall horn.

Dr. Dodge brings the same thoroughness, attentiveness and humanity of her medical practice to her aviator clients and their flight safety and advocacy needs.

All-in-all, her medical ethic for her patients and aviator clients is essentially the same as the wise aviator’s ethic of “sharpest skills, preventive maintenance, corners not cut and safety first”.

What’s more, her son’s a new pilot. She understands as only a doctor mom can about a pilot’s full medical safety needs. Who better to be looking out for you than mom?

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Prepare

Book Appointment

“In flying I have learned that carelessness and overconfidence are usually far more dangerous than deliberately accepted risks.”
Wilbur Wright

Checklist to prepare for your flight physical

🔦 Look over and follow the checklist below and give us call, text or email anytime whenever you have any questions. Download and print a PDF copy of the checklist here.

❏ REVIEW the Medical Conditions List below. If you have any of the listed conditions and/or if you have a Special Issuance from the FAA, you’ll need to see your doctor no more than 90 days before your flight physical. If you’ve already seen your doctor within the last 2 months or so about your medical conditions, be sure to do steps 2 and 3 before your flight physical.

If you need to see your doctor, be sure to do steps 1-3 before your flight physical.

If you don’t have any of the medical conditions, skip to the “BOOK appointment” step below.

1-a. Applicable “CACI Worksheet”: Print a copy of each that applies to you and bring it/them to your doctor. Your doctor will need to evaluate the condition(s) and document that it is stable as outlined in the worksheet. The CACI Worksheet will indicate if your doctor will need to review any lab tests, so be sure to let your doctor know what tests to order and get those tests done BEFORE your doctor visit.

1-b. Any Special Issuance Medical Conditions: Your doctor will need to re-evaluate the condition(s) and document that it is stable. The re-evaluation may include reviewing lab results, so be sure to ask your doctor for lab orders ASAP so you can get that done BEFORE your doctor visit.

2. Visit Note (AKA “clinical progress note”): Get a copy of your doctor’s chart documentation of your visit. This “clinical progress note” must be physically or electronically signed by your doctor. CRUCIAL: No other type of note is sufficient for the FAA (e.g. “patient portal note summary”, “after visit summary note”, summary letter from doctor, etc). See “Info on Doctor’s Clinical Progress Note” for more info.

3. Upload or email or fax a copy of that visit note to us.

❑ BOOK appointment with Dr. Dodge

❑ COMPLETE your application with the FAA at their MedXPress site. Please do this as soon as you can. BE SURE THAT THE ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER YOU ENTER INTO YOUR APPLICATION MATCHES THE ADDRESS OF YOUR PHOTO ID AND YOUR CURRENT PHONE NUMBER. Also, please pay special attention to the wording of Section 18 “Medical History” on the application. The section asks “Have you ever in your life…” had or have certain medical conditions, disabilities or surgeries. Many pilots miss this verbiage and think the FAA means just in the last few years. They want to know “ever”, so please be sure to think back and answer accurately.

❑ SAVE to PDF your completed and entire MedXpress application (not the confirmation page) and email or upload or fax the PDF to us as far in advance of your appointment as possible.

❑ PLAN to bring to your flight physical:

MedXPress number given on the confirmation page or bottom of the completed application
Photo ID
Special Issuance, SODA or LOE documentation you may have from the FAA if you haven’t uploaded it to us
Disability benefits letter you may have from SSA or VA if you haven’t uploaded it to us
Signed clinical progress note (if applicable) from your doctor if you haven’t uploaded it to us
List of the medications (both prescription and non-prescription) and supplements you use if not fully listed on your MedXPress application
Eye glasses (or contacts) if you use them. We have cases and solution if you only use contacts.
Full bladder for your urine sample
Well-rested self – get plenty of sleep the night before
And avoid caffeine and strenuous exercise the morning of your physical

❑ RELAX, remember we’re here to help you and we’ll see you soon!

In the meantime, here is an excellent “voice of wisdom” from the Aviation Medicine Advisory Service:

12 Tips for Taking Your FAA Medical Exam

Medical Conditions

CACI Medical Conditions

CACI stands for “Conditions AMEs Can Issue”.

If you have any of these medical conditions your AME can issue your Medical Certification if your condition is “medically stable” as outlined on the CACI worksheet and if she has your doctor’s recent clinical progress note supporting that.

So you see, it’s vital that you get us your doctor’s recent clinical progress note BEFORE or at the time of your flight physical. Not having this documentation may likely delay your certification.

CACI Worksheets

(Click on the condition to display the worksheet)

Arthritis

Asthma

Bladder Cancer

Breast Cancer

Chronic Hepatitis C

Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenia (cITP)

Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) / Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma (SLL)

Colitis

Colon Cancer

Essential Tremor

Glaucoma

Hypertension (High Blood Pressure) – Doctor’s progress note not required

Hypothyroidism

Migraine & Chronic Headache

Mitral (Heart) Valve Repair

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

Pre-Diabetes

Primary Hemochromatosis

Prostate Cancer

Renal (Kidney) Cancer

Retained Kidney Stone(s)

Testicular Cancer

Weight Loss Management

Other Medical Conditions

Special Issuances

If you have any other more serious medical condition not listed above, you may need a “Special Issuance” from the FAA to get your Medical Certification. If you have a condition that falls under Special Issuance criteria and you’ve never had a Special Issuance, the FAA will need to review your flight physical results and medical records before issuing your Medical Certification by Special Issuance. Dr. Dodge will advise and guide you on what you will likely need to provide the FAA.

If you already have a current Special Issuance and your doctor’s recent clinical progress note evaluates your condition as stable, Dr. Dodge will likely be able to issue your Medical Certification under the AME-Assisted Special Issuance provision. This would be without the need for the extensive FAA-decision process you experienced the first time. Here too, it’s vital that Dr. Dodge has that clinical progress note BEFORE or at the time of your flight physical. Please remember to also bring your Special Issuance documentation to your flight physical or upload a copy to us.

By all means, if you have any questions on how your medical condition stands with Special Issuances or continued Special Issuances, get in touch with Dr. Dodge via the form below. She will get back to you shortly with guidance on whether or not any further medical information/documents are needed for your flight physical.

SODA and LOE Medical Conditions

SODA stands for Statement of Demontrated Ability. LOE stands for Letter of Evidence. The FAA issues SODA’s or LOE’s in the case of medical disabilities that are unchanging and where the aviator typically demonstrates that they can perform safely and appropriately. If you have such a condition, the FAA will make the determination to issue a SODA or LOE and Medical Certification.

Here is a more detailed, but clear, overview from the FAA on the SODA/LOE process: SODA — It’s Not Just a Fizzy Drink.

If you have been issued a SODA or LOE, please be sure to bring that documentation to your flight physical or upload a copy to us.

Disability Benefits

If you are receiving disability benefits from the Social Security Administration or the Veterans Administration you will have answered “Yes” to the medical disability question on the MedXPress application. You should also already have a Social Security Proof of Award Letter or a Veterans Administration Rating Decision Letter.

Please be sure to bring a copy of that letter to your flight physical or upload a copy to us.

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