Medical release, how long are they good for?

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I just re-read the medical release form and it's pretty thorough. Our doc has signed off for me and my husband but it seems like a PITA to say "yes" to the individual questions. For instance "Are you over 45 and ... currently smoke ... have high blood pressure ... currently receiving medical care?" I don't smoke, don't have HBP but I am under the care of a doctor - and my husband has HBP but is under the care of a doctor and takes meds that keep his blood pressure in a safe range. So ... I don't want to check those lines and explain it to the kid at the desk of the dive op if my doc has signed the form. It all feels intrusive and unnecessary if the doc is saying I'm ok to dive. On the other hand, I think it's a good idea for the paramedics to know what meds I might have on board in case of an emergency, and that's stuff to keep on my medical profile on my phone, where it can be accessed without needing a passcode to get into my phone.

(here's a link to the form, for anyone who may be interested: https://www.padi.com/sites/default/files/documents/padi-courses/2.1.5 rstc medstate v201.pdf)
 
And how many people just answer NO to all the questions so they don't have to provide a letter/waiver?
There's just been a recent thread on this where everyone gives their opinion on why you shouldn't "cheat" on the YES/NO thing (and a few on why you SHOULD consider "cheating"). I always ask the question "How many instructors/shops tell you that even one NO means a Dr. letter/signature"--with the blink of an eye.
 
I think the biggest consideration is that YOU are responsible for your own safety. If you have any doubt whatsoever that something could potentially be an issue, get it checked out.
 
There's just been a recent thread on this where everyone gives their opinion on why you shouldn't "cheat" on the YES/NO thing (and a few on why you SHOULD consider "cheating"). I always ask the question "How many instructors/shops tell you that even one NO means a Dr. letter/signature"--with the blink of an eye.
That's generally what I do. After you spend the cash to get your doctor to sign off on the same thing repeatedly it gets kind of old. I've seen some shops in Coz say they wouldn't take a doctor's signoff from the US and that one from a doc in Coz would be required in the event of a no. Big whammies, no money!

Yet another complication is that there's a couple hundred dive cert "agencies" out there. Most of them won't take a signed (by a doc) medical waiver from a different agency. Some dive operations might not even be affiliated with any agency directly. I found that out when I brought an SSI waiver into the NAUI shop for open water class. Prior to that moment I had no idea there was more than one "certification agency." I'd bet most new divers don't know that tidbit.

The whole thing is a big mess.

I kind of get what dive ops are after here, but the implementation leaves a lot to be desired (for both the customer and business owner).
 
Yet another complication is that there's a couple hundred dive cert "agencies" out there. Most of them won't take a signed (by a doc) medical waiver from a different agency. Some dive operations might not even be affiliated with any agency directly. I found that out when I brought an SSI waiver into the NAUI shop for open water class. Prior to that moment I had no idea there was more than one "certification agency." I'd bet most new divers don't know that tidbit.
Your shop was screwed up. Both SSI and NAUI (along with PADI, SDI and a bunch of others) are members of the World Recreational Scuba Council and they use the same medical form....which muight look different because of some logo added to it, but the contents are the same.
 
I think the biggest consideration is that YOU are responsible for your own safety. If you have any doubt whatsoever that something could potentially be an issue, get it checked out.
Who's biggest concern?
That's the biggest concern that I have.
I would GUESS the biggest concern of the shop is liability.
 
Sorry for opening up a can of worms.

My intent in asking was to determine how long a medical waiver/doctor's letter is good for. The answer was given, thanks!

My other comment was more along the lines that if you are approved by a doctor but forget to bring the letter when you show up on the dock to dive the options are...don't dive or just say no to all the questions.

I believe by that one should always get approval from one's doctor when starting any physical activity such as diving. When you think about it...if you get approval to dive from your doctor it means the things you answer yes to on the waiver form isn't likely to cause a problem and if you have something the is likely to cause a problem you shouldn't be diving.
 
Your shop was screwed up. Both SSI and NAUI (along with PADI, SDI and a bunch of others) are members of the World Recreational Scuba Council and they use the same medical form....which might look different because of some logo added to it, but the contents are the same.
They may both be members of that org, but the medical waivers are quite different. I think this mainly is about lawyering and insurance type stuff anyway, right? Even if the forms were very similar, I bet the different logo would be enough to screw things up for a shop. Maybe I'm wrong.

Here's the SSI waiver

Here's the NAUI waiver
 
They may both be members of that org, but the medical waivers are quite different. I think this mainly is about lawyering and insurance type stuff anyway, right? Even if the forms were very similar, I bet the different logo would be enough to screw things up for a shop. Maybe I'm wrong.

Here's the SSI waiver

Here's the NAUI waiver
NAUI only recently joined the WRSTC.

When I signed up for TDI classes in Florida years ago, I was told my PADI (WRSTC) medical form, which was up to date, would not do. I had to use the TDI form. I was stressed because I was 2,000 miles away from my physician. I have a couple of "yes" answers on the WRSTC form, but when I looked at the TDI form, I saw those items were not on the list, and I could honestly answer "No" to everything. The I looked at page 2 of the TDI form and saw it was absolutely identical to Page 2 of the PADI/WRSTC form. If I had used the signed doctor statement from the PADI form for the TDI form, the instructor could not possibly have known the difference.
 
It can be very different outside of the WRSTC.

I don't know if it is still true, but when I was with UTD, their medical releases were only good for the specific class you were taking. You had to fill it out online. There was no doctor's statement. You had to fill in all the very specific details of your medical condition, including any prescription drugs you were taking, and UTD, not your doctor, would determine if you were fit to dive.

It all took a very long time, and their online system would not remember anything you had done before, so you had to do it anew for every single class you took. When I took the Ratio Deco class, I had just finished doing it for yet another class, and I was frankly pissed that I had to do it all again. When I came to the part where I had to list my prescription meds , which I had done a couple weeks before for the other class, I figured what they heck--this is a purely academic class spent entirely in the classroom, so I left it blank. A week or two later I was rooming with my usual UTD instructor (who was NOT the instructor for the Ratio Deco class) on a dive trip, and I came into the motel room to find him going through my toilet kit. He had been instructed to find out what my prescription meds were because I had not listed them on the online form.
 

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