Jan 22, 2025 – Federal Air Surgeon Bans Virtual Assessments
Limited Application for Return Visits Still Allowed
The FAA instructed the aviation psychiatrists during academic meetings in April 2021 that in-office, in-person evaluations were the gold standard for assessment of first-time clients.
With air travel re-opening and vaccines available, the FAA believed in 2021 that the grounds for remote assessments had diminished.
I agreed with that stance and performed my last virtual evaluation in December 2020, right as COVID-19 vaccines became widely available.
The FAA’s January 22, 2025 memorandum places into writing the verbal guidance first given in 2021. You can download and read the memo if you want more information.
FIND A HIMS NEUROPSYCHOLOGIST
HIMS Neuropsychologists, like HIMS AMEs, have special training to test the cognition of pilots and ATCs. Cognitive testing can be required when a pilot has a mental health condition like depression or anxiety, a history of a head injury, substance dependence, ADHD, or any other medical or mental condition that could impair complex decision making.
A HIMS Neuropsychologist can administer an industry-standard test called a CogScreen-AE. The HIMS Neuropsychologist will also be familiar with normative test data for the general population and compare results to aviator-specific norms when possible.
Being in the map does not imply my endorsement, only that the psychologist is on the FAA’s designated HIMS Neuropsychology list.
If you are a HIMS Neuropsychologist and would like your listing appended with your telephone number, a website, or removed please email gregkirk@avipsy.org with your request.
Map last updated 220722