Going for BasicMed, wish me luck!

Bill

Bill

Touchdown! Greaser!
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So, I called AOPA to reference their list of doctors doing BM, and they only had one name in our metro area of 500k or so. I see this guy today, have my ducks in a row, including bringing a copy of the SI from last year. Hopefully he reads the regs and does the right thing (issue), but who knows. Call me nervous and skeptical.
 
Good luck! Assuming you're basically healthy and have none of the conditions listed in the statute as needing a one-time SI (or you already have the SI), why would he not sign you off?
 
My AME expected to do a 3rd class. When I asked for BasicMed he said that just made his morning easier. And it was less expensive for me!
 
Man do I hate the medical process. BasicMed, regular, whatever. I'd rather talk to 1,000 used car salesmen sequentially than speak with one AME. @bbchien excepted, of course!
 
Bill Jennings said:
Man do I hate the medical process. BasicMed, regular, whatever. I'd rather talk to 1,000 used car salesmen sequentially than speak with one AME. @bbchien excepted, of course!
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I hated and feared the 3rd class process so much that my BP was once borderline too high the first time they checked it and they had to take a second reading. That was even though I normally have excellent BP control, 110/70-ish, and never get elevated readings even in (non-AME) doctors' offices. I had 3 semi-bogus SIs already and would have needed a 4th, very real one, that would have required deferral to OKC and a VERY uncertain outcome, to get a 3rd class last year.

BasicMed was a breeze by comparison. Remember that with BasicMed, you aren't interacting with the FAA for the exam results, even indirectly, other than the driving record search which I assume yours is clean. So if he doesn't sign you off (and assuming it's not for a valid medical reason), you can always go to a different provider - yes, that could be inconvenient, but with the 3rd class exam, it's not even theoretically an option!

Seriously, try not to sweat it. (I know, that's easier said than done!)

If you have all your ducks in a row I bet it will go just fine. :thumbsup:
 
If AOPA has him listed as playing ball with BasicMed you shouldn't have any issues. Good Luck!

Also, I don't know if anyone has mentioned this before, but I have seen a local Chiropractor advertising for BasicMed exams. If you have difficulty finding a physician in your area you may be able to find a DC willing to perform the exam if you live in or are close to a state that calls DC's "Chiropractic Physicians". This link has more info:

https://www.chiroeco.com/dcs-perform-faa-physicals/
 
He wants my last cardiologist office visit notes and the last nuclear stress results, the same crap I've already provided for the ONE TIME SI I got for this last year. In theory, if I have no new symptoms (and I don't) he should sign off. Now I'm having to go down the same road again and I'm quite agitated actually. Like I thought, BM is great if you're a plain vanilla exam. ****ed off doesn't even begin to describe it...
 
It's actually not that bad - he's just been scared by all the people who have told him that he is responsible if you keel over dead. Should be a phone call, get the records, give it to him and you're done for the next 4 years. Easy peasy.

Would have been easy if your doctor did it.
 
bflynn said:
It's actually not that bad - he's just been scared of all the people who have told him that he is responsible if you keel over dead. Should be a phone call, give it to him and you're done for the next 4 years. Easy peasy.
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Hopefully, but remember the heated discussions as to would doctors stick their next out and sign for SI type stuff. I'm putting it at 50/50 he issues or says "I'm not comfortable with this" and kicks me loose. Maybe my odds are even worse than that. And yes, I signed the release to have my cardio send him the data.
 
Bill Jennings said:
He wants my last cardiologist office visit notes and the last nuclear stress results, the same crap I've already provided for the ONE TIME SI I got for this last year. In theory, if I have no new symptoms (and I don't) he should sign off. Now I'm having to go down the same road again and I'm quite agitated actually. Like I thought, BM is great if you're a plain vanilla exam. ****ed off doesn't even begin to describe it...
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Don't you get an annual cardiologist checkup? I did mine a week before my BM exam. Had my heart doc write the same treatment plan letter I always gave the FAA for my SI. Handed it to my AME for the BM exam. Done deal.
 
Stewartb said:
Don't you get an annual cardiologist checkup? I did mine a week before my BM exam. Had my heart doc write the same treatment plan letter I always gave the FAA for my SI. Handed it to my AME for the BM exam. Done deal.
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Of course, but didn't think I would need it per the BM regs. ONE TIME SI, not jump through the same hoop multiple times.
 
Didn't you say this guy was an AME? If so, he knows the FAA already issued you an SI for it. I can't believe he would have any issue with that as long as all the original paperwork is in order. It sounds like he just wants the same paperwork to cross all the t's and dot all the i's.

If he's not an AME, you might be able to educate him on the FAA's standards for issuing post-cardiac care SIs. You went to Bruce for it as I recall, so you know how strict they are.

Anyway, best of luck!
 
azure said:
Didn't you say this guy was an AME? If so, he knows the FAA already issued you an SI for it. I can't believe he would have any issue with that as long as all the original paperwork is in order. It sounds like he just wants the same paperwork to cross all the t's and dot all the i's.
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Yes, he's an AME, but most AMEs are not like Dr Bruce and Dr Lou.
 
I'd be surprised if a BM doc would sign any cardiac SI patient off without current records to cover his ass. That's why I scheduled my BasicMed so closely to my cardio appt. I have no doubt that condition letter is in my file, too. That's what I'd do if I was him.
 
Stewartb said:
I'd be surprised if a BM doc would sign any cardiac SI patient off without current records to cover his ass. That's why I scheduled my BasicMed so closely to my cardio appt. I have no doubt that condition letter is in my file, too. That's what I'd do if I was him.
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Yes, that is a point that I missed... I just noticed that Bill's SI was last year. I was recalling a thread about reaching stage 5 on the Bruce protocol from earlier this year and thought Bill's test was around then. I agree, that could be a little sticky and the doc might hesitate without more recent testing.

Fingers crossed for Bill, anyway.
 
Dang, Sorry Bill! So what’s the game plan to move forward? When’s the SI officially expire?
 
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Good luck Bill. I have an SI and the AME also happens to be my personal physician. I just renew my Second Class with her every year. She provides the pertinent documentation to the FAA. Would this work for you Bill?
 
To renew the 3rd class, I’d have to get an echo every year along with some other tests. Probably about 4 amu worth of tests annually. That was the big plus to go BM, eliminate those tests.
 
Bill Jennings said:
To renew the 3rd class, I’d have to get an echo every year along with some other tests. Probably about 4 amu worth of tests annually. That was the big plus to go BM, eliminate those tests.
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Dump the AME and go to a doc in the box that does CDL licenses. I went to Concentra, a chain of doc in the boxes and got the BM no muss no fuss.
 
With a cardiac SI history?

The BM exam isn't a big deal, the doc just wants to see the specialist's records. Easy peasy. I'd think
most docs want to be sure the BM applicant isn't end-arounding the FAA with a DQ health condition.
 
Bill Jennings said:
To renew the 3rd class, I’d have to get an echo every year along with some other tests. Probably about 4 amu worth of tests annually. That was the big plus to go BM, eliminate those tests.
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Yeah, I TOTALLY understand. :(

Going forward, the main takeaway might be (for others in a similar situation) to not wait for the SI to expire, but do the BM exam soon after the one-time SI so that the BM doc can be satisfied that the health status he's vouching for is really current.

And the nice thing about BM is, you don't need legally another exam for another 4 years. Of course your treating doc might, or might not ask for a follow-up echo and treadmill test before then, but if he does, then do another BM exam within the next few months even if your legal status has another year or two to go. That way you won't have to do any medically unnecessary testing to stay in the air.
 
Why go to an AME? I used my primary care doc for my BasicMed. It was super easy - didn’t ask for any paperwork or other nonsense from previous visits.

Seriously, try anyone other than an AME.
 
SkyHog said:
Why go to an AME? I used my primary care doc for my BasicMed. It was super easy - didn’t ask for any paperwork or other nonsense from previous visits.

Seriously, try anyone other than an AME.
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My primary care doc decided not to do BasicMed exams, so I went to the AME who issued my last medical, and it was a painless process. (He also works at the same medical foundation as my regular doctors, so I think he has complete access to my medical records through the foundation's computer system. That may have helped, since he could see that I wasn't withholding anything.)
 
Palmpilot said:
My primary care doc decided not to do BasicMed exams, so I went to the AME who issued my last medical, and it was a painless process. (He also works at the same medical foundation as my regular doctors, so I think he has complete access to my medical records through the foundation's computer system. That may have helped, since he could see that I wasn't withholding anything.)
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And my experience was somewhat similar in that I had reason to know (eek, I'm starting to talk like the FAA! ;)) that my PCP would balk at the vision testing part of the BM exam, and the process was fairly painless with a local AME I had consulted about trying to regain my 3rd class medical. The AME didn't have direct access to my records, but I had already brought him volumes of documentation regarding my most serious recent medical issue, and it was not difficult to convince him (with a couple of additional records) that the so-called conditions that I already needed SIs for were either totally bogus (in one case it was indeed very likely bogus) or of no aeromedical significance. He actually thought I had a good chance of getting the 4th SI, but it would have required a deferral, and to maintain the SIs in coming years would have cost me several AMU out of pocket each time, with at least 2 AMU per year in medically unnecessary tests.

Everyone's situation is different. I could probably have gotten the signoff with my PCP by going to an ophthalmologist for the vision testing, but since the tests were medically unnecessary, I would have ended up paying as much or more that way as compared with a BM exam at the AME's office.
 
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