Hyperbaric Medicine Classification

UHMS Guidelines for Credentialing, Privileging and Supervision of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in the U.S.A.

Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society

Created: March 2009

Revised:   June 2014

Revised: August 2019

Hyperbaric Medicine

The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) defines hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) treatment as an intervention in which an individual breathes near-100% oxygen while inside a hyperbaric chamber that is pressurized to greater than sea level pressure (1 atmosphere absolute [ATA], which converts to 101.325 kilopascals [kPa]). For clinical purposes, the pressure must equal or exceed 1.4 ATA (141.86kPa) while breathing near-100% oxygen.1