That Diver's Medical Form: Undercurrent 03/2025

That Diver's Medical Form

what's it mean for you?

from the March, 2025 issue of Undercurrent

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One of our readers, Lisa Piatt from La Quinta, California, recently wrote to us, concerned about the medical forms required before a diver can dive. She wrote,

"I have heard some dive resorts around the world, some of them in more remote areas, are now utilizing a new diver-waiver form, which states if you are over 45 years old and are taking any prescription medications, birth control pills and allergy meds being excluded, you must present a doctor's note stating you are fit to dive before you are allowed to dive."

It's an important question, and we'll see if we can shed some light on it. It's not a waiver form but a decadesold medical form revised in 2020 by the Recreational Diving Screening Committee in collaboration with the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society, DAN, and others. Divers are increasingly required to complete it before they step aboard their dive boat.

Older Divers

Over the years, we have reported on aging divers and their fitness to dive. In September and November 2023, we published articles regarding age limitations set by DAN and its insurance company, which concerned divers 80 and older. Their company was not accepting insurance purchases or renewals from DAN's octogenarian members. When we discussed this with various DAN leaders, we found their staff a bit confused, but they said their computer software was not working correctly. Shortly afterward, they eliminated any age restriction, updated their system so it would reject 80-year-old divers, and agreed themselves to underwrite the 80-year-old divers that their insurance company refused....

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