Probably one of the most important documents in recreational and technical diving has been revised in June 2020.
You can download 2020 Diver Medical directly from PADI Pros’ Site at Training Essentials / Forms Applications or use links below (PADI Pros links will work after logging in).
If you are interested in learning more, please watch recorded webinar presented by Mark Caney, one of the coordinators of this project.
Below you can find answers to frequently asked questions on the 2020 Diver Medical.
Q. Why was the new medical created?
A. The Recreational Scuba Training Council (RSTC) diving medical screening system was first published in 1989, so after 30 years, it was felt appropriate to review the medical evidence and ensure that the most current medical thinking was being addressed.
Q. What is the new medical called, and who created it?
A. The new diver medical screening system was endorsed by the WRSTC in June 2020 and includes a completely new form to be completed by the diver, the Diver Medical Participant Questionnaire. To differentiate this new system from the previous Medical Statement, it is referred to here as the 2020 Diver Medical. It was initially drafted by an independent international group of diving medical experts, the Diver Medical Screen Committee (DMSC). The DMSC was brought together in 2017 to initiate an evidence-based review. They incorporated input received from other key medical experts such as the UHMS diving committee and DAN.
Q. Which bodies have endorsed the 2020 Diver Medical?
A. Beyond the endorsement by its developers, the DMSC, the new screening system reflects input from the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society Diving Committee (James Chimiak, Co-chair, Charlotte Sadler, Co-chair, and Nicholas Bird, UHMS President), the Divers Alert Network and the Hyperbaric Medicine Division, University of California, San Diego. It is also endorsed by the UHMS and by WRSTC.
Q. Can I still use the previous version of the RSTC Medical Statement?
A. Given that the new form reflects the latest medical thinking, including screening for COVID-19, and has been organized to make it easier to use by both students and their physicians (if needed), it is recommended, but not required, that you change to the new form (as downloadable from the Pros’ Site and in revised products containing it as they come on-board) as soon as practical. However, especially if you have existing product on hand, you can choose to make the transition at the time best for you.
Q. Will the 2020 Diver Medical be translated?
A. DAN Europe is leading the translation of the questionnaire and expect to have it available in Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Romanian and Russian very soon and should receive Czech, Hungarian, Greek, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish shortly after that. PADI Asia Pacific is translating the 2020 Diver Medical into Chinese, Korean, Indonesian and Thai.
Q. Where have the guidance notes to physicians gone?
A. The Diving Medical Guidance to the Physician is now located online on the UHMS website. It’s a much bigger document, (12 pages instead of 4 pages) and is completely updated. It includes hyperlinks to additional references for physicians searching for more information. You can still print it out if they wish to.
Q. Why is there no place for the physician to add notes on the 2020 Diver Medical?
A. In the past, physicians have sometimes made the well-intentioned mistake of adding limitations in the comments box, such as “this person can only dive to 10 metres/30 feet.” Since the medical community considers such conditional medicals as unacceptable, the developers felt the removal of this box would discourage physicians from doing this.
Q. How does the 2020 Diver Medical deal with COVID-19?
A. The new medical includes statement about being previously diagnosed as having COVID-19. If student divers answer yes, then they need to be screened by a physician. The Diving Medical Guidance to the Physician contains extensive information about the disease and is linked to resources that will be updated as more becomes known about it. If you have students who do not know if they may have had the disease but are worried about it, you can still recommend that they consult with a physician who can refer to this information and give them appropriate advice.
Q. Why is there no question about previous DCI?
A. The experts who designed the questionnaire decided that this was not a valuable question in itself. They felt that the important thing was if the DCI had caused other lasting effects on the person, and that if any of these had been of significance, they would be identified by one of the other questions on the form.
Q. Why is there no question about pregnancy?
A. There is now this statement at the start of the form: “If you are pregnant, or attempting to become pregnant, do not dive.”
Q. Will there be a PADI logo on the new questionnaire?
A. The 2020 Diver Medical has the DAN, RSTC and UHMS logos on it. PADI recommends that members use this document, but a PADI logo has not been added, as PADI has no ownership of the document.
Q. What do I do with my existing inventory of PADI Discover Scuba Diving Participant Guides that contain the RSTC Medical Statement questions?
A. You can continue to use them. If, however, you wish to transition to the new 2020 Diver Medical, then download the form from the PADI Pros’ Site; simply cross-out the RSTC Medical Statement in the Participant Guide; and have the participant complete the 2020 Diver Medical Participant Questionnaire, instead. You will find that the 10-statement questionnaire is easier for participants to understand and complete than the existing DSD Participant Guide’s medical questions, and the majority of participants (those with only “no” answers) will be quickly finished. If participants answer “yes” to a statement, they should be given the Diver Medical, page 2, and then page 3 if further “yes” answers so indicate. If the answers indicate a physician’s approval is required, the Diving Medical Guidance to the Physician document can be provided to the participant to give to the physician. When the PADI Discover Scuba Diving Participant Guide is updated in the future, it will include the new 2020 Diver Medical information.
Special note: For areas where local regulations have required specific introductory scuba materials, medical evaluations, etc. (such as Queensland, Australia), please continue to abide by those requirements.
Q. Can I still use the PADI Continuing Education Administrative Document and Student Record File, which also include the RSTC Medical Statement questions?
A. You can still use these documents, but if you wish to use the new 2020 Diver Medical Participant Questionnaire, simply cross-out the RSTC Medical Statements on the forms and have the student complete the Diver Medical Participant Questionnaire, instead, as described above. When these products are updated in the future, they will include the new 2020 Diver Medical information.
Q. Can other medical questionnaires, other than the RSTC Medical Statement or 2020 Diver Medical, be used for PADI courses?
A. The initial questionnaire that divers/freedivers complete for PADI courses is the RSTC Medical Statement and now the 2020 Diver Medical. This use is clarified in PADI Standards. No other questionnaires can be used for PADI courses unless required by local laws or regulations.
Q. In addition to the RSTC Medical Statement or 2020 Diver Medical, can other medical approval forms, or simply a statement, signed by a physician be used to document a student’s fitness to dive?
A. Yes, if someone needs to get approval from a physician to scuba dive/freedive, PADI Standards do not identify how this approval must be documented. Other diving medicals such as the HSE Annual medical, OSHA commercial diving medical, AS/NZS 2299 or even a note from the doctor are sufficient. The only requirement is that the medical approval must state the individual “is fit to scuba dive/freedive.” However, if not specified by local regulations, use of the new Physician‘s Evaluation Form (page 3) from the 2020 Diver Medical.
Q. Should I use 2020 Diver Medical for my TecRec courses?
A. Yes, you should use 2020 Diver Medical for all TecRec courses. The 2020 Diver Medical is intended to be used for anyone who will take part in typical diving activities, whether they are engaged in freediving, no-stop recreational diving or technical diving.
