It’s happened! I have been appointed to the position of Principal Medical Officer at CASA. It coincides with a major restructure of the regulator, and there are significant changes that affect AvMed. The doctors are being established as a technical group, and the certificate processing function is being managed separately. At the present, the contact numbers and details you have remain unchanged.
In the meantime, I trust that you have been able to access the training opportunities for MRS. The online learning and training is coming as well, and are I hope you will find them a useful resource in our work. The MRS2 programme has seen an unparalleled level of engagement with pilots and DAME’s around the country – something which I wish to see continue. We will let you know about the learning resources as they come available.
The new online aviation Medical Records System (MRS) will be released on 21 March 2016.
From this date all aviation medicals will need to be completed using the new MRS system. This includes the history portion to be completed by the applicant.
Submit all applications by COB 16th March 2016.
AvMed cannot accept any application for a medical certificate created in the current MRS after the 16 March 2016. Any applications not submitted to CASA by this date will need to be re-entered in the new MRS and submitted for assessment.
To allow for the data migration and clearing of assessments there will be a short down time of 3 business days total from 17-20 March inclusive. This does unfortunately mean that there will be a period when no examinations can be undertaken or submitted. Pilots and controllers are being advised of this and the need to plan their medicals either side of late February and March.
For those of you who have indicated your wish for further face to face training, you should have received notification regarding your session. If you have not been provided with the details please contact us as soon as possible.
These are major changes, and work will be ongoing to improve a number of areas. The first medicals will be more labour intensive as new information is entered into the system, but for the majority of applicants in the future, we will have a far better awareness of the matters of concern to an individual’s assessment. Thanks for your part in this significant transition.
We will be rolling out improvements to the website progressively during 2016. The changes being launched in late February include a fresh look design and new web structure to find information easily.
Important links:
We have recently become aware that some practices have been requesting a letter of referral to enable the processing of a Medicare rebate. This is a reminder that pilot examinations for CASA certification including ophthalmic reviews are not covered by Medicare and the cost of the associated reports is the responsibility of the applicant.
The ASAM New South Wales meeting is planned for 28 May, at the HARS Museum at Illawarra Regional Airport. An interesting venue and an excellent programme is planned.