FAA introduces online tool for checking medication rules for pilots

The FAA's Office of Aerospace Medicine has released an online tool listing medications that pilots and air traffic control specialists may use while on flight or safety-related duties, according to the agency. It partly closes a long-standing gap in access to that information.

MedGuide is not a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment, the agency says on its website, and should not be the only basis for aeromedical decisions, which require an individual assessment. The FAA intends it as a reference for airman medical certification and for ATCS clearance.

Version 1.0 covers approved medications only. Conditional and unacceptable drugs will be added in later versions.

Users can search by generic or brand name, or by over-the-counter product, choosing from a drop-down menu or typing an entry. The tool returns FAA frequency limits, usually as given on the label, and wait times that vary with the user's role.

For most drugs that includes an initial wait time: the observation period after starting a medication before a return to safety-related duties. The FAA puts this at typically 48 hours, though it can be longer or shorter depending on the drug. Some medications carry a different wait time after subsequent doses to reduce aeromedically significant side effects. Others have a discontinuation wait time, required to confirm a user's condition is stable and that there is no risk of rebound symptoms or withdrawal after stopping.

MedGuide also lets users select the underlying conditions being treated. The FAA said this is critical to judging safety of flight and can affect wait times.

Mark Larsen, director of safety and flight operations at the National Business Aviation Association, called the tool still a work in progress but said it equips aviators to make safe, fit-for-flight decisions about medication use.