is ER visit considered admission to hospital?

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there is a question on form 8500 that asks if you've ever been admitted to a hospital, is that just a really broad question so the FAA has a way to screw you over on a whim.

Or is it literally being checked into a hospital for a procedure/surgery for multiple days etc...

For example if you sprained a pinky finger and went to the ER do you have to report that?
 
You already have to report visits to a "medical professional" in the last 3 years. Even if you weren't admitted but did see a doctor - I'm pretty sure you have to report it somewhere.
 
Visiting the ER is not admission to a hospital (unless they admitted you...)
 
Technically you will be admitted as a outpatient in order to be seen. It's a billing/legal issue as much as anything. Since you have to report doctors visits I'd put it into that location with a note that you say dr xyz at Hospital ER.
 
It's not really an admission (inpatient) thing so it wouldn't be reported the same way. Of course you must still report it as a health professional visit, just like any other doctor visit.
 
I think he was asking does he need to check 18u. It either needs to be there or explained in 19. However, since it doesn't count as an admission, unless he has some other prior admission, he's spared having to check 18u and marking Previously Reported No Change over and over again on the subsequent applications like I do.
 
On a related (hypothetical) note, if you participated in some of these experimental studies while in college where they have you stay overnight to monitor you as they test something, does that count as an admission? It certainly wouldn't fit with what I would expect the FAA to be interested in, but I've already learned that is not a decision for the airman to make!
 
Yep, you're supposed to report it, no big deal if you do ("how's your pinky now?" "fine" done with that) and not a big deal if you forget either. I remember when I filled out my first I said "Doc, you gotta be kidding me, every time?" and his reply was "Hit the highlights, surgeries, broken bones and major illnesses.
 
To summarize...

If you visit the ER, and leave it via the same door you came in, it's only a visit to a health professional reported in the block for that. If you leave the ER via the door into the hospital itself, it's also an admission to a hospital requiring a check in the box in block 18 with explanation below.

That said, as long as you report it somewhere on the form with sufficient detail for the FAA to figure out what happened, the FAA is not going to get excited about which block it's in. What sets them off is concealment of the event.

Ad for participation in a study, that's probably going to depend on the study. If all they do is observe you, the FAA probably won't care. If they give you LSD and observe your response, the FAA will want to know about that.
 
It is obviously an admission if there is a physicians order to admit as inpatient. It is less clear if someone is placed on 23 hour observation status patient although I would consider that to be a hospital admission. The door you enter or leave the hospital from has no bearing on the admission status, if it did then I have been admitted to the hospital thousands of times.
 
Matthew's post #2 hits it on the head. It doesn't matter if it's reported as a physician visit or as a hospital visit. It has to go someplace.
 
flyingron said:
I think he was asking does he need to check 18u. It either needs to be there or explained in 19. However, since it doesn't count as an admission, unless he has some other prior admission, he's spared having to check 18u and marking Previously Reported No Change over and over again on the subsequent applications like I do.
Click to expand...

30+ yrs of 18.u, Previously Reported, no problems since.

Each new AME asks, I tell him when and where, he says OK and moves on.

As to Med xPress, I print my file each year and refer to it the next time around.
 
I'd be careful trying to use the CMS (Medicare) definition of admission when answering an FAA form regarding admission to a hospital.

As Gary alluded to, you might be admitted as an inpatient. When Admitted for observation its possible to be there 23 hrs ( not an admission for copay purposes and certain Medicare reimbursements).

Things the FAA is concerned about like chest pain, gall bladder flares and TIA's might only rate observation. But not disclosing it on the FAA form would seem kind of deceptive.
 
Actually, it might make a difference? If it was an admission, then it probably does need to be reported (depending on the wording of the question). But if it wasn't an admission, just a visit to a "health care professional" outside the last 3 yrs (if on a 5yr medical), then does it need to be reported at all?
 
Matthew said:
Actually, it might make a difference? If it was an admission, then it probably does need to be reported (depending on the wording of the question). But if it wasn't an admission, just a visit to a "health care professional" outside the last 3 yrs (if on a 5yr medical), then does it need to be reported at all?
Click to expand...
Be careful for what you wish. A fix for that has been discussed....and it's not nice.
 
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