It's not all in your head!

Over the past few months, the FAA has introduced in the Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners evolving guidance for medical examiners who see pilots with a broad spectrum of behavioral disorders that fall in the category of “Anxiety, Depression, and Related Conditions.” As in many aspects of life, it’s often helpful to look at things on a spectrum, and mental health diagnoses fit nicely in that perspective.

Historically, the FAA looked at relatively few “data points” on the spectrum for the purposes of medical certificate issuance or deferral. Any type of behavioral pathology disclosures on the FAA medical application warranted a deferral by the aviation medical examiner (AME), followed by a letter from the FAA requesting treatment records, hospitalizations, consultations, and evaluations that required an extensive review time before a decision could be made. There are more data point diagnoses on the spectrum now, and some of those conditions, with adequate documentation from the healthcare provider, can now result in an office issuance by the AME.

Uncomplicated anxiety, including generalized anxiety disorder, situational anxiety, social anxiety or other unspecified anxiety, postpartum depression, situational depression, adjustment disorder with depressed mood, or unspecified depression involving psychotherapy or use of a psychoactive medication two or more years prior may now result in an office issuance. This is a huge leap in FAA certification policy.

Additionally, the FAA is making available an increasing number of Decision Tools” for numerous other medical conditions to assist AMEs in issuing certificates at the time of examination. All information in the Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners is available to pilots and their health care providers to assist in gathering the necessary information to make available to the AME to upload directly into the FAA Aerospace Medical Certification review system. This step will improve the review time before a decision letter can be sent out to the applicant.

More changes are coming from the FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine that will continue to move the needle toward additional favorable reviews of uncomplicated mental health and other medical conditions, and less lengthy review times, as well.

Gary Crump is director of medical certification in the AOPA Pilot Information Center.

aopa.org/pps