Applicants Gain Status Updates During Medical Process

The FAA has (finally) enabled application tracking to MedXPress, allowing aviators to track the status of their medical certificates online throughout their application and review process. 

The change obviates the former need to call the Office of Aerospace Medicine for updates on their status. For those procrastinators running up against a time crunch, the feature is a thankful addition to the process. The change of pace at the FAA may seem slow to younger members of the collective aviation scene, but recent developments do seem to be coming quicker than ever before. Good news like this, MOSAIC on the horizon, and rumored changes to CFI currency are generally received quite well among the old salts walking the jetway. 

Federal Air Surgeon Susan Northrup said the change is a long time coming, comparing the slow speed of service improvements to those of private companies outside the industry. 

“If you can track where your ridesharing car is or the status of a company delivering your package, pilots should be able to see online the real-time status of their application," she said announcing the change. "We will continue to explore how we can be more transparent with the aviation community.”

Applications will appear in the pilot's MedXPress profile once added to the system, with status updates changing at each milestone of the process. If for any reason the application is deferred or denied, applicants will receive detailed information through mail in the traditional fashion. All else about the process remains the same. 

FMI: www.faa.gov