Whether you read it online or hear it from a fellow pilot at the airport, there is no shortage of “advice” telling pilots not to report medical conditions to the FAA.

The reasoning varies. Some pilots believe a particular condition simply isn’t the FAA’s concern. Others don’t want to deal with the paperwork. And many are understandably worried that reporting a diagnosis could result in a deferral or even the loss of their medical certificate.

The problem is that failing to disclose a medical condition can turn something relatively straightforward today into a much more complicated problem later.

Many Medical Conditions Aren’t That Difficult to Report

One of the biggest misconceptions about FAA medical certification is that reporting a medical condition automatically means months of paperwork and a trip through the FAA’s review process. That simply isn’t true.

Many conditions can be dispositioned directly by your Aviation Medical Examiner (AME), sometimes with very little documentation and without the case ever needing to be reviewed by the FAA.

The FAA publishes numerous disposition tables that give AMEs specific guidance for evaluating common medical conditions. For slightly more significant conditions with well-established treatment and monitoring standards, the FAA also has formalized Conditions AMEs Can Issue (CACI) protocols.

Learn more about CACI conditions and why your AME should be willing to work with them.

In each of these situations, however, the AME needs enough information to make an informed certification decision. That generally means providing evidence showing what the diagnosis is, how it is being treated, and whether the condition is stable.

For many pilots, that documentation is much easier to obtain than they expect.

The Problem With Kicking the Can Down the Road

One of the biggest risks of not disclosing medical conditions as they occur is that those conditions don’t necessarily stay hidden forever. We have seen this problem many times.

Imagine that you undergo major surgery. The surgery leaves an obvious scar, and both the procedure and the underlying diagnosis require documentation for your FAA medical. When you obtain those records, they also document your longstanding history of diabetes and chronic kidney disease.

Or you suffer a stroke. The hospital records document a multiyear history of atrial fibrillation and obstructive sleep apnea.

Or you are involved in a car accident and sustain a concussion. The emergency department records also document your history of colon cancer.

None of these conditions necessarily makes FAA medical certification impossible. But now you aren’t simply trying to demonstrate that you have recovered from one new medical problem. You may suddenly have to address multiple previously undisclosed medical conditions at the same time.

That can dramatically increase the amount of documentation required and the complexity of your FAA medical certification.

Now There Is a Second Problem

The medical conditions themselves may only be part of the issue. If those conditions should have been reported on previous FAA medical applications, the FAA may also have questions about why they were not disclosed. That distinction matters.

A pilot who appropriately reports a medical condition and provides the documentation necessary to establish that it is stable is dealing primarily with a medical certification issue.

A pilot whose records reveal years of previously undisclosed medical history may now be dealing with both a medical certification issue and questions regarding the validity of prior medical applications.

Depending on the circumstances, that can potentially place more than the current medical certificate at risk, your pilot certificates may be at risk as well.

This is why intentionally withholding medical information is rarely a good long-term strategy. Something that seems like an easy way to avoid paperwork today can become considerably harder to explain several years from now.

The FAA Mostly Wants to Know That Your Condition Is Under Control

In most cases, your treating physicians want the same basic thing the FAA wants: for your medical conditions to be appropriately diagnosed, treated, monitored, and stable.

Modern medicine relies heavily on established treatment protocols. If you have a chronic medical condition and are doing well, there is a good chance your physician is already collecting much of the information the FAA ultimately wants to see. The key is obtaining the right documentation.

A vague letter saying “John is doing well and I see no reason he cannot fly” isn’t particularly useful.

A detailed clinical progress note describing the diagnosis, treatment, medications, objective findings, stability, follow-up plan, and any relevant testing provides the AME and FAA with much more meaningful information.

Learn what the FAA is looking for in a current detailed clinical progress note.

Prepare for Your FAA Medical Like a Check Ride

The solution isn’t to be afraid of reporting medical conditions. It is to understand what the FAA requires before you submit MedXPress and before you walk into your AME’s office.

Determine whether your condition falls under an AME disposition table, a CACI protocol, or requires FAA review. Then obtain the appropriate medical documentation before your examination.

If your medical conditions are being appropriately treated and monitored, gathering the documentation necessary to demonstrate that is often one additional step, not an insurmountable obstacle.

And dealing with a medical condition correctly when it first occurs is usually far easier than trying to explain the condition years later after it unexpectedly appears in another set of medical records.

Prepare for your FAA medical checkride. Know the requirements, gather the documentation, and address the issue before you submit.