The new FAA national automated ECG network: some aviation medical examiner experiences

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has required, since August 1, 1987, that aviation medical examiners (AMEs) transmit by telephone all electrocardiograms (ECGs) necessary for airman "Class I" medical certification. This relatively new airman certification requirement is centralized at the Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI) in Oklahoma City. In calendar year 1989, the FAA received 69,000 electronically transmitted electrocardiograms. CAMI uses Marquette Electronics software to interpret the ECG signals that are received from multi-channel equipment. The single-channel transmitted ECGs are hand screened at present. The FAA "automated" screening program is unique among governmental airman medical certification programs throughout the world. This paper presents, for potential future users, the authors' experiences with the new airman automated electrocardiographic certification requirement, and covers positive and negative features involved in the implementation and operation of the program. We conclude that while the new FAA automated ECG screening program has satisfactorily replaced the former "physician-intensive" manual screening process, the new system increases the AME's equipment and operation costs. These are passed on to the airman who is seeking certification.