Dive Medicals

[tursiops]

Dude, you are on an international board. Get over yourself.

 

[clownfishsydney]

AFAIK Australia has a network of "dive-certified" GPs and at least back when I lived there, GP visits were covered by Medicare (edit: "medicare" doesn't mean Down Under what it means Up Over here).

Medicare DOES NOT cover dive medicals. It is actually illegal for a GP to charge Medicare for any examination for an employment or similar purpose.

 

[Scubagermany]

when a 70 yo diver shows you the result a 70 yo would show

And what result do you think would a 70 year old person show? I believe that depends on the person, not neccessarily on the persons age

Why would I and who is VDST?

You seem to know so much. You are so good with statistics. You have so strong opinions on many things. I presumed you would know.... my bad!

 

[Edward3c]

Why would I and who is VDST?

Its Germany's version of BSAC.

 

[Wibble]

because fast treatment in less than 1 hour ist much more difficult to achieve if you have a heart attack at a depth of 30m.

You have to make it to the surface alive, then to shore if you are on a boat and then to hospital.

Therefore depriving people of their passion and hobby for a completely uncertain low risk of a catastrophic event is better? Sod the diving, I'm going for a walk into a forest or wilderness to have an unexpected heart attack and still die outside of emergency coverage.

It's one thing to have an obviously unfit, unwell person to avoid so-called "risky" pursuits such as diving, etc. That's just common sense and the responsibility of that person.

It's a completely different thing to have a bureaucratic you must have a medical to dive rule which is just expensive authoritarian bollocks and is unlikely to save anyone, just stop people enjoying the few short days left on this earth before decrepitude sets in.

People die. That's normal.

And what result do you think would a 70 year old person show? I believe that depends on the person, not neccessarily on the persons age

Nothing at all. Let them dive -- it's their choice.

 

[boulderjohn]

Medicare DOES NOT cover dive medicals. It is actually illegal for a GP to charge Medicare for any examination for an employment or similar purpose.

Yeah, but.....

Medicare does pay for an annual wellness check. Just bring your diving form with you and have the doctor sign it when you are done. I have never had a doctor do a "diving examination" for me, but I have had my doctors sign countless dive medical forms over the years.

 

[Scubagermany]

Nothing at all. Let them dive -- it's their choice.

I think you misunderstood my statement. What I meant so say is that a 70 year old could have a perfectly normal result.

 

[dmaziuk]

Medicare DOES NOT cover dive medicals. It is actually illegal for a GP to charge Medicare for any examination for an employment or similar purpose.

Interesting... I read it somewhere the .au now has a network of "dive-certified" GPs to sign your medical clearance. Would you need one for employment? GBR liveabords?

Over here it's how @boulderjohn described: health insurance does cover annual check-ups and you can ask your GP to sign page 3 of the WRSTC form during one. I don't know of any special "dive medicals" nor a requirement to have one for "recreational" diving.

Training: yes, and some day I may ask our marine archeologists at work what their OSHA red tape is, but I doubt stress ECG is a part of it.

 

[clownfishsydney]

Yeah, but.....

Medicare does pay for an annual wellness check. Just bring your diving form with you and have the doctor sign it when you are done. I have never had a doctor do a "diving examination" for me, but I have had my doctors sign countless dive medical forms over the years.

Medicare is something that has been in Australia since early 1970s (called Medibank back then). Totally government funded for ALL Australians. Nothing to do with USA Medicare.

 

[MntryDvr]

I'm so happy to find this forum, as I'm diabetic type 2 and have wanted to learn to dive for many years... When I finally found the courage I was told by many people that I couldn't do it... I'm very scared of getting any kind of inflammation, I do check very often with Diabetic Foot Monitoring - Feetsee device, to prevent it, but still... Can anyone with the same situation send me some support?

Hey-- Not sure if you got where you wanted on your inquiry re diving with diabetes, but DAN has a good article on the topic which I found interesting. I had to do my own diving medicine research re the advisability of diving with a pulmonary issue and ultimately went the route of finding a doc who was a specialist in both pulmonary and hyperbaric medicine; there's no substitute for talking to an expert. Or two.