Where in the world can I find a HIMS Psychiatrist?

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Guest

Guest
I've been told by the FAA that I need a HIMS Psych eval, but have only been able to find them in the DC area.. at a cost of $4500. My HIMS AME has said he "doesn't know of any" which I'm skeptical of being that he was complaining about them for 10 minutes at my last appointment.

Surely there are more affordable HIMS Psychs out there outside of the DC area? I'm willing to fly just about anywhere.
 
Guest said:
I've been told by the FAA that I need a HIMS Psych eval, but have only been able to find them in the DC area.. at a cost of $4500. My HIMS AME has said he "doesn't know of any" which I'm skeptical of being that he was complaining about them for 10 minutes at my last appointment.

Surely there are more affordable HIMS Psychs out there outside of the DC area? I'm willing to fly just about anywhere.
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There are certainly more around. I don’t know if it is a big secret or something who these guys are...but I know there is one in the Philly area. Ask your AME for a guy in the Bryn Mawr area of Philly...my eval was FAR cheaper than 4500....but I don’t know if it varies based on what is entailed.
 
The guy in DC is way outpriced. But they have prerequisites which have to be satisfied and the list is unpublished. In 2016, IRC they dismissed a HIMS AME for exposing that list...
 
bbchien said:
The guy in DC is way outpriced. But they have prerequisites which have to be satisfied and the list is unpublished. In 2016, IRC they dismissed a HIMS AME for exposing that list...
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Why in the world is it kept confidential?

Tim

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Bascom Bradshaw, straightforward, $1500, albeit may have been COVID derived, but all done remotely.

Dothan AL.

there are others.
 
To prevent doctor shopping.


And to force HIMS AMEs as a byproduct, to do a whole bunch of scut work to dot i‘s cross t’s....
 
bbchien said:
To prevent doctor shopping.


And to force HIMS AMEs as a byproduct, to do a whole bunch of scut work to dot i‘s cross t’s....
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but neuropsychologists are publically post and you can call their offices and ask questions about pricing and "what ifs". I say the FAA is like General Motors, they do some of the stupidest and most backward stuff and yet I'm never surprised by it.
 
Tools said:
Bascom Bradshaw, straightforward, $1500, albeit may have been COVID derived, but all done remotely.

Dothan AL.

there are others.
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$1500 is not bad.The possibility to do it remotely is even better; I didn’t think that would even be possible. How did it work with the drug/alcohol testing? Was that just done at a medical lab?
 
Your AME usually just contracts through a third party. You go to any local collection facility, they send it to whomever the third party uses, a fourth party.

Some AMEs do it in house.
 
Guest said:
I've been told by the FAA that I need a HIMS Psych eval, but have only been able to find them in the DC area.. at a cost of $4500. My HIMS AME has said he "doesn't know of any" which I'm skeptical of being that he was complaining about them for 10 minutes at my last appointment.

Surely there are more affordable HIMS Psychs out there outside of the DC area? I'm willing to fly just about anywhere.
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My HIMS AME has a team he works with in Atlanta. The whole P&P exam didn't cost much more than your quote for just the psychiatrist. The other benefit is these guys work with Delta fairly regularly. They know the standards.
 
bbchien said:
To prevent doctor shopping.


And to force HIMS AMEs as a byproduct, to do a whole bunch of scut work to dot i‘s cross t’s....
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Seems rife for a FOIA request. While I understand the FAA's desires, secret lists are not the way a government organization should run this. Standards and checking should suffice to keep them on right side.
 
My understanding is the list is secret so the person being evaluated doesn't "practice" before the actual evaluation or otherwise try to game the process.

Part of the analysis is comparing the results to the pilot population at large. For the population you are comparing to, if some have practiced and some that didn't and you don't know who did or didn't practice, then the comparison to the at large population is meaningless.
 
But there is a definite "percieved top flight" short list of these fellows. FAA really respects those few. What they say, really goes. I've worked with about half of them and THEY ARE CORRECT.
 
Uh, no Brad. Those are the HIMS neuropscyholgists. That' s different. the HIMS Psychiatry list is formally guarded.
 
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I'm in ATL. Who did you see? I need to find someone here.

Michael Blazer said:
My HIMS AME has a team he works with in Atlanta. The whole P&P exam didn't cost much more than your quote for just the psychiatrist. The other benefit is these guys work with Delta fairly regularly. They know the standards.
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There is Lynn and Bedi in ATL, I’d steer clear.

Bradshaw over in Dothan AL is fairly normal.
 
I'm pretty certain that if you put the right keywords into Google you can figure out who the HIMS Psychiatrist in your area would be.
 
Hi all, I found this thread while also searching for a psychiatrist for my son. Wondering if anyone had any successful results and actual doctor names they can post? We are in the Western New York area but looks like we have to travel and we are okay with that. I've had a couple quotes from doctors asking for $5,000 cash. We have excellent health insurance, That does not seem to be accepted. Is this normal to everyone?
He's been accepted to a few great flight schools and this is holding us up, and wondering if the process is worth it at this point. Would love to hear any success stories and tips that people have!
 
bbchien said:
But there is a definite "percieved top flight" short list of these fellows. FAA really respects those few. What they say, really goes. I've worked with about half of them and THEY ARE CORRECT.
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Would be nice to see that "short list"
 
If it helps as a data point, I paid 3,500 for the HIMS psychiatrist and 1750 for the Cogscreen/neuropsych assessment in February of 2022. Your costs will vary depending on how much effort goes into the reports or if you need additional follow on psychological testing (i.e. For poor performance on the assessments)
 
Any HIMS AME should have the list and be able to provide you with some names. I generally will provide a list of the closest 3 or 4 ones to a client which gives them a few options.
 
Yes. And "working with a doctor" in this case means someone familiar with FAA's stds on psychiatry meds, e.g a HIMS AME. We can't really divulge the HIMS psychiatry denizens without doing what the agency expects is it's "due dilgigence" on your behalf without being "engaged". It's TIME and document INTENSIVE. The concept is "retain for expertise"
 
bbchien said:
The guy in DC is way outpriced. But they have prerequisites which have to be satisfied and the list is unpublished. In 2016, IRC they dismissed a HIMS AME for exposing that list...
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Sounds like a FOIA request would be in order.
 
There is a medical safety exemption, and a national interest exemption.
Some guys forget that an attorney cannot get you a clearance. Only a doctor can.

If Maverick posts a list, the agnecy will simply track down from where he obtained it and do their thing.
 
The HIMS AME list is public on the FAA website. I am not sure if that's new as this thread is a few years old, but it's definitely not confidential.
 
I’d look into Dr. Kenneth Thompson in Pittsburgh. He won’t openly admit on his websites that he’s a HIMS Psychiatrist, but he is. Not sure on the price, but he is for the pilots within the regs and has had no problems in the past challenging Mr. Chesanow over various issues.
 
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