Rx Pad

We all learn about barotrauma in the Introductory Course in Hyperbaric Medicine. The question we have for you today is whether or not you remember the mechanisms of what causes barotrauma and how to properly pre-screen HBOT patients.

There has been a lot of communication in the marketplace, as well as confusion and misunderstanding, over the past few weeks regarding the final publication details and implementation notice of the Medicare Administrator Contractor’s, Novitas LCD on hyperbaric medicine for hospitals and physicians. The LCD takes effect July 24th, 2014. A major development with MAC’s and commercial insurance products recently, is their taking a stance on practice requirements. They are dictating credentialing standards. This most recent LCD from Novitas reflects that positioning as well. In this blog post we give you straight answers that will provide clarity and assist you in understanding how the revised requirements will impact you and your program staff.

Is it a goal of your clinic to achieve 100% staff credentialing? If not, your facility is missing a huge opportunity. Having a fully credentialed staff sends the message to referring physicians, patients, and your local community that meeting a national standard of high quality health care is your clinic's #1 priority. Being fully credentialed also sends the message that your clinic has a very competent clinical team. And when faced with making a patient referral, wouldn't you rather refer a patient to a facility that you trust to be competent and provide the highest quality of care?

By providing community education to potential patients you are, in the words of John Peters, incoming Executive Director of UHMS and Managing Partner of Wound Care Education Partners, “building awareness, and with that awareness we’re able to impact healing outcomes for patients in our community.”

We recently recieved this question from a prospective student. If you find yourself asking this same question, read on to learn the course of action we recommend.

We are often asked the question, "Does participation in a safety director course automatically designate me as a hyperbaric safety director?" There seems to be some midunderstanding around this issue.

Below you'll find some of the questions we get asked about the Introductory Course in Hyperbaric Medicine (ICHM) - along with our honest answers. We'll tell you everything about the program and what it takes so you can make the best enrollment decision for you.

The development of a comprehensive maintenance program for a hyperbaric system and its supporting equipment is essential for a safe and cost-effective operation. The chamber and its operational systems, the chamber room, and the equipment used in and around the chamber should be maintained at the highest operational level. This should also include the cleanliness of all elements of the interior and exterior systems.

Henry's law can be used to examine the transfer of gases into and out of a scuba diver's body. 

Question: "I would be interested in the current perspective regarding supervision of hyperbaric dives by Nurse Practitioners.