This was my response to the "DAN worthless" post:
A rescue squad I volunteered with and still occasionally assist with has dive emergency procedures pretty well covered, granted they have a dive team for SAR... At least for our squad, the Divers hold training with the EMTs to cover dive related emergencies and what to do outside of the immediate medical needs. The EMTs are instructed to take the divers gear with the patient to the hospital or at least any computer and to document the divers profiles and relevant info in the PADI accident worksheet for the hospital. We also provide the hospital with the DAN emergency number regardless whether the individual has DAN or not. DAN has always helped the hospital staff with the appropriate treatment plan, regardless of membership status. While DAN might not pay, they still assist, and for that reason alone the preferred plan will always be my choice so long as I can afford it. DAN provides an invaluable service to all divers.
Our experience with the local hospitals has been that the doctors usually don't have a sense of urgency with dive related incidents until they speak with DAN. I would make the broad assumption that most doctors will never treat a patient who had been exposed to higher than ambient pressures while breathing compressed air and potentially get hurt because of it.
On a side note, I routinely dive with my Mares ICON and have customized a screen which includes my member number, Dan's emergency phone number, allergies and blood type