Unofficial translation. The Spanish version is the official one and prevails in case of discrepancy.
Core message
The Sociedad Panameña de Medicina Deportiva (SPMD) proposes a standard of medical coverage for sports events achievable with the resources of Panama and the rest of Latin America: medical posts, an advanced life support (ALS) unit and motorcycles with defibrillators that reach the victim first. In road races in Japan, with CPR in less than 1 minute and defibrillation in less than 3, full neurological recovery was 95.5% [4].
AED · Essential Minimum
Mandatory floor at any point on the course.
AED · Recommended
Target whenever resources allow.
Minimum physicians
Main medical post, post 2 (with motorcycle) and ALS unit.
Verified references
DOI, PMID, authors, title and abstract checked one by one.
Three axes to classify an event
1 · Risk
10-criterion scale (9 to 36 points): low, moderate, high and special.
2 · Care profile
Clinical (marathon), trauma (skateboarding, BMX, extreme sports) or mixed (obstacle races, triathlon, trail).
3 · Accessibility
Urban, difficult access, remote (mountains, islands) and aquatic (open sea).
Two levels
| Urban marathon | Essential Minimum (SPMD) | Recommended (COPAMEDE/SBMEE) |
|---|---|---|
| Time to AED | ≤5 min | ≤3 min |
| Medical posts | 2 | Main + additional |
| ALS unit | ≥1 + agreement with 911 | ≥2; start, finish and every 5 km |
| Motorcycles with AED | 5 + physician on motorcycle | According to 3-min calculation |
| Physicians | 3 | 2–3 per 1,000 participants |
Calculate my event →Read the full recommendation
— Dr. Mauricio Beitia Kraemer · Medical Recommendation for Sports Events, SPMD (2026)
Timeline
SPMD's institutional contribution
The Recommendation is a technical contribution from the SPMD to Panama, open access and at no cost to institutions. Its adoption as an institutional position and its presentation to the authorities are recorded in the Board of Directors Minutes AT-2026-00001 (pending signature).
The SPMD will propose to the institutions responsible for health, emergencies, civil protection and sport the creation of an Inter-institutional Technical Committee to review and adapt the Recommendation as a national reference: MINSA, SUME 911, Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos, SINAPROC, PANDEPORTES, Panamanian Red Cross, SENAN, MiAmbiente and municipalities.
| Phase | Proposed action | Indicative timeline |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Set up the Inter-institutional Technical Committee and review the document | 0–2 months |
| 2 | Risk-area map for events and a checklist for event authorization | 2–4 months |
| 3 | Pilot at one or two events, with a follow-up report | 4–8 months |
| 4 | Technical standard with requirements by risk level | 6–12 months |
| 5 | Bill establishing the general obligation (medical plan, accessible AED, medical director) | After the pilot |
Preliminary proposal for discussion. It is not an official standard and does not commit the institutions mentioned until they accept it.
Documents
Full recommendation
Complete text with side table of contents and 37 references.
Executive summary
For authorities, organizers and federations.
Press kit
Key points, verified figures and quotable statements.
Official PDF
Zenodo · DOI 10.5281/zenodo.23044361 · CC BY 4.0.