Healthcare Professionals

A Special Welcome to Referring Physicians and Clinicians

We designed HyperbaricLink with you firmly in mind, and it’s our core mission to give you more useful information about hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and more options for your patients.

• Use our diseases and conditions pages to review the medical literature on a broad range of approved and off-label indications for HBOT.
• Use our directories to locate and compare the HBOT facilities and physicians in your area.

Here we offer a brief introduction to the main elements of our site and to some of the key issues you may wish to consider before referring your patients to one of the HBOT treatment centers listed in our directory.

Diseases and Conditions
Treatment Centers

Clinical Indications

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in close consultation with the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) recognizes 13 approved clinical indications for hyperbaric oxygen. Our diseases and conditions pages clearly show FDA and UHMS approval for these indications, and we fully support evidence-based hyperbaric medicine.

But many in this growing field of medicine would argue that regulatory approval and financial reimbursement lag the prevailing clinical evidence on the use of HBOT for several other diseases and conditions. By also providing information about alternative HBOT indications and providers, we support responsible off-label usage prescribed by knowledgeable practitioners and based on a strong physician-patient relationship. HyperbaricLink conditions pages include our Evidence Index check chart, showing the stage of clinical investigation or FDA approval for each indication and providing quick links to the scientific literature and information about new clinical trials.

We urge you to read the key papers that have informed our at-a-glance evidence scores and summaries. And of course we welcome any additional data or references our visitors may provide.

UHMS Indications for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Diseases and Conditions

Pressure and Oxygen Dosage

By definition, hyperbaric oxygen therapy should deliver a high concentration of oxygen at above-normal atmospheric pressures. The UHMS and most hyperbaric medicine specialists consider pure oxygen (100%) at 1.4 atmospheres absolute (ATM ABS or ATA) the minimum therapeutic dosage. But modern HBOT practice and a growing body of scientific literature support at least some efficacy across a broad range of pressures and oxygen levels.

Mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy (mHBOT) uses an inflatable or portable soft chamber to deliver room air (about 23% oxygen) at slightly elevated pressures (about 1.3 ATA). Pure oxygen may be delivered via facemask in mHBOT chambers.

Hard chambers or dedicated HBOT rooms deliver 100% oxygen in the ambient environment or via hood or facemask. Proper dosage also encompasses the number and duration of HBOT sessions.

Referring physicians will find no firmly established guidelines and plenty of variation in HBOT practice today. We urge you to discuss the empirical and evidence-based rationale for your patient’s recommended prescribed dosage with several qualified hyperbaric physicians or clinicians.

Medical Credentials and Certifications

In our directories you will find HBOT practitioners covering the full range of medical training and education, from non-physician wellness entrepreneurs to board-certified specialists. Our physician and clinician listings show practice specialties, affiliations, academic credentials, and board certifications. Of special note are the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) and the American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM). The National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology (NBDHMT) and several other professional associations offer training and certification of Divers Medic Technologists (DMT), Certified Hyperbaric Technologists (CHT), and Certified Hyperbaric Registered Nurses (CHRN). The American College of Hyperbaric Medicine (ACHM) and the American Professional Wound Care Association (APWCA) are the main providers of continuing medical education (CME) and certification in wound care.

We urge physicians to weigh all relevant medical credentials and certifications when choosing an HBOT practitioner for patient referral. Our ProfilePlus treatment center listings show you photos and even more information about physicians, clinicians, and technicians.

American Board of Emergency Medicine
American Board of Preventive Medicine
American College of Hyperbaric Medicine
American Professional Wound Care Association
National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology

Facilities and Equipment

In our directories you will find HBOT treatment centers housed in the full range of facility types, from storefront clinics in strip malls to Level 1 trauma and advanced wound care units in the world’s leading academic medical centers. Hyperbaric chambers may range from inflatable, portable units for mild hyperbaric therapy (mHBOT) using room air to hard chambers built to accommodate one (monoplace) or more (multiplace) persons. Some major centers even deliver hyperbaric oxygen in large rooms or suites. Wherever possible we note the number and type of each center’s hyperbaric equipment, including technical specifications and photos in our treatment center ProfilePlus listings.

Treatment Centers

Pricing

The costs and charges for an HBOT session vary greatly with facility and equipment type, medical and technical supervision, and local market dynamics. Expect prices ranging from $40 for 30 minutes of mild-pressure therapy using room air at a freestanding facility to $1,200 for 90 minutes of high-pressure therapy using 100% oxygen at a major medical center. A typical course of treatment may run to 40 or more sessions over weeks or months.

Reimbursement

Healthcare financing for HBOT is no less troublesome than it is for any other medical service or procedure in the US today. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recognizes and provides reimbursement for the 13 FDA-approved indications. Of course the rates, rules, and regulations differ from state to state and region to region. Our friends at Hyperbaric Tech Blog have posted a handy guide with links to Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) and HBO Local Coverage Determinations (LCDs). In our treatment center directory and diseases and conditions pages we show FDA-approved HBOT indications but do not provide any information about insurance coverage or reimbursement. We urge you to contact the administrator or medical director shown in our treatment center directory listing and clarify financing arrangements before referring.

HBO Tech Blog: HBO Policies & LCD’s

Comments and Suggestions

We do hope our site and directories will help you better understand HBOT and make better-informed patient referrals. What other information would you find most useful before contacting a hyperbaric medicine colleague and arranging a patient referral? We urge you to contact us with any questions, requests, and criticisms. Thank you for helping us build the web’s most comprehensive and detailed HBOT directory.

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