Heretical thoughts on the diver's medical form

[tursiops]

There is no reason to have a Covid diagnosis on the medical form

There is no diagnosis of Covid-19 on the form. There is a question that asks if you've ever had that diagnosis (Yes or No.) If you answer Yes, you are to get a medical release before you dive. Given that Covid-19 can negatively affect the lungs -- which you may not know -- this seems like a prudent thing to do.

 

[Jcp2]

There is no reason to have a Covid diagnosis on the medical form

Yet there it is and if I want to dive with an operator in Florida, I’m going to have to fill it out with something.

 

[dmaziuk]

I notice there is no "I self-identify as not ever diagnosed with covid-19" option. Which I think is all sorts of "-ist".

(And if this form lasts as long as the previous one, what are the chances of future people asking why there's a question about this one ancient virus, but not about about bubonic plague, or diphtheria.)

 

[Jcp2]

Again, the form is to allow the business some standard level of liability protection so that they can get insurance that allows them to operate an activity where there is some not insignificant risk of injury to the participants. Don’t like the form, then open up a dive business where no form is required.

 

[lowwall]

Yes, you could come up with a better form if the purpose of the form is to make divers aware of increased risks due to certain types of medical conditions.

But that is not the purpose of the form. The original purpose of the RSTC medical form, indeed the purpose of the creation of the entire RSTC, was to ward off US state and federal governmental regulation of the sport. The medical form was based on the existing commercial diver medical form so legislatures could be reassured that the standards were not being lowered so much that they would be ineffective. The one big change was to allow self-certification if none of the listed conditions were present. All commercial divers had to have it signed off by a physician.

Its current purpose is to keep insurers happy. Insurers are happy when they understand risks. The form has been around long enough that they are confident about the payout risk associated with it. A drastic change to the form would result in lower confidence in the payout risk and thus higher premiums to compensate for that risk. It would take several years until they had enough data from court cases to lower the risk premium they demand. The final premium would, of course, depend on whether the changes to the form made any difference to the expected average payout per policy.

That doesn't mean the form is set in stone, insurers won't object to changes in wording or even organizational improvements like recently occurred. But getting rid of the physician sign-off for any potentially qualifying medical issues would certainly result in a reappraisal of operator liability policies.

 

[Wibble]

Why do we "need" any medical forms?

I sort of get it in America where you all sue each other with the culture of litigious ambulance chasing. But not so much in the rest of the world where common sense occasionally prevails.

Leave it up to the diver to self certify.

 

[boulderjohn]

I sort of get it in America where you all sue each other with the culture of litigious ambulance chasing. But not so much in the rest of the world where common sense occasionally prevails.

You apparently missed the part about Australia's medical form requirements being so much stricter.

 

[scubadada]

My impression is that the medical form is generally only necessary for participating in training activities. I don't remember if I filled out the medical form in 2013 for my solo cert. I certainly did fill it out for my 2004 Rescue course.

It seems like you should be able to take care of this requirement, when necessary. If not, maybe there is a problem

 

[boulderjohn]

My impression is that the medical form is generally only necessary for participating in training activities.

That's generally true. A cave diving operation I have used in Mexico requires it for diving, too.

 

[Jcp2]

The form is a requirement for courses under many training agencies for their liability carrier to cover the operator. The form is commonly asked for as a private matter for many dive shops in order to be on their trips. Their business, their rules. Some of them have instituted the rule of no logged dives in a year, refresher course before anything else. Given that Covid put my surface interval into a longer period than that, I’m going to have to either do that at home in a pool or quarry, or do it at my destination in a pool. Same cost, but the destination also includes two warm water divers on a boat.