Dive Physical Online: What a Video Evaluation Covers
By Adam Z. Kawalek, MD · October 11, 2026 · 6 min read
A dive shop or a liveaboard asked you for a dive physical, and you are wondering whether that means a clinic appointment, a stethoscope and a morning off work. For recreational diving it usually does not. This guide explains what the recreational dive physical actually is, what a physician can assess on a video visit, what video cannot do, and who still needs to be seen in person.
What a recreational dive physical actually is
For a recreational diver, the "physical" is a physician’s evaluation of the yes answers on the Diver Medical Participant Questionnaire. The physician reviews your history, decides whether anything in it is incompatible with recreational diving, and records the result on the Diver Medical Physician’s Evaluation Form. That signed page is what your shop, liveaboard or instructor wants to see.
The guidance written for physicians by the diving medicine community says an in-person examination is not always necessary, and the questionnaire itself does not require a face-to-face visit. What matters is that a licensed physician makes the decision on real information about your health.
Checked yes on the questionnaire? A board-certified physician reviews your records, sees you on video and signs your RSTC form the same day. $91 flat, full refund if we refer you instead.
Book your evaluationWhat a physician can assess on video
Most of a recreational dive evaluation is history: what the condition is, how well it is controlled, what medication you take, what your recent tests showed and how you handle exertion. All of that comes through your records and a conversation, and a live video visit lets the physician ask follow-up questions in real time.
That is why records matter so much. If you flagged asthma, recent spirometry does more work than any listening. If you flagged blood pressure, a few recent readings and your medication list answer most of the questions. Clear phone photos of your records are fine.
What video cannot do
A video visit has no hands in the room. The physician cannot listen to your heart and lungs, look in your ears, or run spirometry or an ECG during the visit. For many histories that does not matter, because the decision rests on records you already have. For some it does: unexplained chest symptoms, a past collapsed lung or lung surgery in the past year, seizures, or insulin-dependent diabetes, for example. Those go to in-person dive medicine, and at DiveSlip the referral comes with a full refund.
Checked yes on the questionnaire? A board-certified physician reviews your records, sees you on video and signs your RSTC form the same day. $91 flat, full refund if we refer you instead.
Book your evaluationWho still needs an in-person dive physical
Commercial divers, scientific divers and military divers work under their own medical standards, which call for a hands-on exam and specific tests. An online evaluation does not replace those, and DiveSlip evaluates recreational divers only. The same is true if your shop or program has told you it requires an in-person exam: follow what they ask for.
For everyone else, the question is simply whether your history can be judged from your records. Most can.
How the online dive physical works
Flag your yes answers and upload your records. A short intake covers what you flagged. Meet the physician on video for a scheduled visit of about 15 minutes with Dr. Adam Z. Kawalek, a board-certified internist and PADI certified diver. Get the signed form the same day as your visit when clearance is appropriate, signed under his own name and license and carrying a verification code your shop can check.
It costs $91 flat, and if the physician refers you to an in-person evaluation instead, you get a full refund. For the whole process from questionnaire to signed form, see our guide to scuba medical clearance online.
Frequently asked
Can I get a dive physical online?
For recreational diving, usually yes. The recreational "dive physical" is a physician’s evaluation of your health history against the Diver Medical Participant Questionnaire, recorded on the physician’s evaluation form. Diving medicine guidance says a face-to-face exam is not always required, so a physician can often complete it from your records and a live video visit. Some histories still need an in-person exam, and the physician tells you if yours does.
Is a video dive physical accepted by my dive shop?
Shops and training agencies ask for the signed physician’s evaluation form, not for a particular kind of visit. The form carries the physician’s name, license and signature, and DiveSlip forms carry a verification code the shop can check.
What does a video dive physical not include?
Anything that needs hands or equipment in the room: listening to your heart and lungs, looking in your ears, or running spirometry or an ECG during the visit. If the physician needs any of those to decide, you are referred to in-person dive medicine and refunded in full.
Do commercial divers qualify for an online dive physical?
No. Commercial, scientific and military diving have their own medical standards that call for a hands-on exam and specific tests. DiveSlip evaluates recreational divers only.
Dr. Kawalek is a hospitalist physician with 15+ years of clinical experience who dives himself. He started DiveSlip so a diver with a yes on the questionnaire can get a real physician evaluation and a signed RSTC form without hunting for a dive clinic.