Adding Hyperbaric Medicine to Your Practice: The 3 Steps Every Physician Faces

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has become a core part of many wound care programs, and more physicians are asking how to get involved. Some are being asked to cover a hospital's hyperbaric service. Others see it as a natural extension of their wound care, emergency medicine or surgical practice.

Whatever brings you here, the path tends to come down to three questions: Can I practice it here? What credentials do I need? And what training lets me supervise treatments and bill for them correctly? Here's how to think about each one.

Step 1: Earn privileges to practice hyperbaric medicine

Hyperbaric medicine is practiced inside a facility, so your first gatekeeper is usually your hospital or center's credentialing process. Each organization sets its own criteria for granting hyperbaric privileges, and those criteria often reference training standards set by professional societies. 

Practical first moves:

• Ask your medical staff credentialling office for the current hyperbaric privileging criteria in writing.
• Find out who chairs or oversees the hyperbaric service and what they expect from new physicians.
• Map the gap between your current training and those criteria before you register for any course.

Knowing the target saves time and money. A course that doesn't match your facility's criteria won't get you privileged.

Step 2: Know the difference between certified and boarded

Physicians often hear "certified" and "board certified" used interchangeably in hyperbaric medicine. They are not the same thing.

• Certification after a training course generally means you completed a recognized training program in hyperbaric medicine and received a certificate of course completion documenting it. For many physicians, this is what privileging requires.
• Board certification is a formal subspecialty credential with its own eligibility pathway and examination. 

Which one you need depends on your role and your facility. A physician who supervises hyperbaric treatments in a wound center may have different requirements from one who wants to direct a program or teach. Clarify this early, because the time commitments differ widely.

Step 3: Get the training required for supervision and billing

Once you're privileged, the work isn't only clinical. Hyperbaric treatments require physician supervision, and payers set rules about who may supervise and what documentation supports a claim. 

That's why training for hyperbaric physicians usually covers more than physiology and indications. A strong training program also prepares you for:

• Patient selection and appropriate indications
• Contraindications, complications, and emergency management
• Chamber operations and safety
• Documentation that supports medical necessity

Gaps in any of these areas can create risk for patients and for your program.

Where to start

WCEP's Introduction to Hyperbaric Medicine is a four-day course with a chamber and TCOM practicum on the final day, plus a required online pre-course. It is open to physicians, nurses, and respiratory professionals, so you can train alongside the team you'll work with. The next session runs December 4–5 and 11–12, 2026.

Calls to action:

• December livestream training → https://www.woundeducationpartners.com/ihm-2020-layout/620-livestream-introduction-to-hyperbaric-medicine-december-4-5-11-12-2026.html
• See all upcoming courses, in-person and livestream → https://www.woundeducationpartners.com/live-courses/hbo-courses.html

This article is general education and is not legal, billing or credentialing advice. Confirm requirements with your facility and payers.