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DA Form 5181 belongs to the DA series of Department of the Army publications. Its official title is SCREENING NOTE OF ACUTE MEDICAL CARE, and its stated purpose is screening note of acute medical care. Edition in force: 02/01/2003. Publication status: ACTIVE. Length is 2 page(s), with roughly 200 fields available for entry.
Responsibility for content and revision lies with TSG. The prescribing directive is AR 40-66, which sets both the trigger for use and the disposition of the completed document. Entry is made by the named party or by the records clerk holding the file, with review and signature applied in the prescribed order.
Available formats: PDF, XFDL. Each is a rendering of the same official layout; the content is identical across them and only the means of completion differs. The pdf is the reference copy. Fillable pdf carries interactive form fields; a printable pdf is the same page image without them, intended for pen entry after printing.
A pdf opens in any current browser or in a dedicated reader. Fillable behaviour is more reliable in a full reader than in a browser viewer, where some field types render but do not save. An xfdl file is also published. This is the IBM Lotus Forms format used within Army systems; it requires the Lotus Forms Viewer and will not open in a pdf reader or a word processor.
Every format is available at no charge and without sign-up. Files are distributed exactly as published, with no changes to the page.
What the form asks for
- AID_SIG
- ALGOR_A
- ALGOR_B
- ALLERG
- AUD_INI
- CARELOC
- COMB_A
- COMB_A_1
- COMB_A_10
- COMB_A_11
- COMB_A_12
- COMB_A_13
- COMB_A_14
- COMB_A_15
- COMB_A_16
- COMB_A_17
- COMB_A_18
- COMB_A_19
- COMB_A_2
- COMB_A_20
- COMB_A_21
- COMB_A_22
- COMB_A_3
- COMB_A_4
Completion follows the printed sequence of blocks from the top of the page downward. The heading area takes the identifying particulars — name, identification number, organisation, date of preparation. Retrieval of the record from a file depends on these entries, and they are therefore filled first.
Interactive fields are filled by typing into them. Movement between fields is by tab, following the order established when the form was constructed, which usually tracks the page layout. Check boxes and radio groups are set by clicking, and exclusive groups permit one selection at a time. A one-line field has no wrap: text beyond its width prints truncated even when the screen shows it. Overlong content is placed in remarks or on a continuation, not forced into the field.
Signature comes at the end, applied in ink or by an accepted electronic method. Until it is applied the document is a draft. Additional signatures — reviewer, approver, witness — are taken in printed block order, each dated when signed rather than when the form was drafted. The commonest error is a mandatory field left blank; where nothing applies, the entry is marked accordingly instead of being skipped. Transposed identification digits, day and month reversed in dates, and carried-over data from a reused working copy account for most of the remainder.
A Privacy Act statement appears on the form where personal information is collected. It sets out the authority for collection, the purpose, the routine uses, and whether disclosure is mandatory or voluntary. The statement is read before entry, not after. Completed copies carry personal data and are handled and stored under the safeguards applicable to that data.
Once completed, the form goes where the governing authority directs: to the designated office, along the unit administrative channel, or into the personal file. The preparer retains a copy. The length of retention and the manner of filing are set by the records schedule for the series, not by local arrangement.
Companion forms are traced by series and number. Within the DA series, documents sharing a proponent or a governing directive are frequently required together, and a form cited on the face of another is generally submitted alongside it. Continuation sheets, covers, and transmittal forms are part of that set and are assembled in advance of submission.
Editions are replaced when the proponent revises the content. The edition date printed on the form is the means of telling one version from another, and the date on a downloaded copy is checked against the edition in force before use. Records already executed on a prior edition are not reworked on that account.
The documents on this page are reproductions of published Department of the Army forms, offered for download. This is an independent site with no connection to the Department of the Army and no authority to issue forms. Nothing stated is legal advice, and no assurance is given regarding acceptance by any office. Doubts about a specific entry, requirement, or eligibility are resolved by the proponent or by the servicing administrative office.
Questions and answers
- What is DA Form 5181?
- SCREENING NOTE OF ACUTE MEDICAL CARE
- Which edition is current?
- 02/01/2003
- Who is responsible for this form?
- TSG
- In which formats can it be downloaded?
- PDF, XFDL, PDF