Credentialing

We have a new CRNP starting at our Wound and Hyperbaric center and she has recently completed a 40 hour UHMS introductory HBO course. I am a physician and have been providing HBO for the past 9 years. I have currently been supervising the CRNP with HBO treatments provided in our clinic. Our hospital does not have a policy yet, can you please recommend the number of treatments or hours that she must complete before she can provide HBO independently. That way we can put a policy together.

Posted: 7/16/2020

Q:

We have a new CRNP starting at our Wound and Hyperbaric center and she has recently completed a 40 hour UHMS introductory HBO course. I am a physician and have been providing HBO for the past 9 years. I have currently been supervising the CRNP with HBO treatments provided in our clinic. Our hospital does not have a policy yet, can you please recommend the number of treatments or hours that she must complete before she can provide HBO independently. That way we can put a policy together.

A:

Page 15, of the UHMS Guidelines for Supervision and Credentialing of Hyperbaric Medicine - https://www.uhms.org/images/Position-Statements/UHMS_Cred_and_Priv_Guide_-_V30_Aug_2019.pdf does address your question specifically, I believe. 

All HBO₂ providers shall undergo a period of proctored experience after completing a UHMS approved Introductory Course in Hyperbaric Medicine prior to working without direct, in-person oversight by an Independent Supervisor of HBO₂. Health care facilities have discretion to formulate their own criteria/training parameters, but the following guidelines provide a reasonable standard. 

• A minimum of five (5) proctored consultations and attend more than twenty-five (25) hyperbaric sessions (see Note iii), which shall be overseen by an appropriately qualified HBO₂ facility Medical Director or other Independent Supervisor of HBO₂.
• Face-to-face supervision should be followed by a review of the subsequent one hundred (100) treatments. This can be accomplished through a chart review or through the center’s electronic health record, as part of a Focused Professional Practice Evaluation (FPPE) process recommended and outlined by The Joint Commission.¹¹

Providers with Previous Experience in HBO₂ from Outside Institutions Education requirements necessary for the safe and appropriate supervision of HBO₂ treatments have been described above. Proctoring requirements may be modified by the health care facility Medical Director or credentialing/privileging committee if the provider submits evidence of having supervised at least fifty (50) treatments and performed a minimum of five (5) hyperbaric consultations within the last two (2) years, or provides documentation from a training program director or director of a hyperbaric center (i.e., a signed letter with primary source verification) attesting to the demonstration of adequate HBO₂ care case volume and competency during the past two (2) years.⁷

Can a podiatrist be the hyperbaric medical director?

Posted: 8/23/21

Q:  Can a podiatrist be the hyperbaric medical director?

A: Please see our position on credentialing and privileging can be found in our 2019 guideline - https://www.uhms.org/images/Position-Statements/UHMS_Cred_and_Priv_Guide_-_V30_Aug_2019.pdf.

Can an occupational therapist become a CHT?

Posted: 11/22/21

Q: 
Can an occupational therapist become a CHT? 

A:

For information on becoming a CHT, please visit the NBDHMT’s website at www.nbdhmt.org and specifically here is the resource manual link - https://nbdhmt.org/forms/CHT_Resource_Manual.pdf.

The NBDHMT lists the follow qualifying pathways to be eligible to take the CHT exam.

1. Respiratory Therapist

2. Physician Assistant

3. Active Duty Military Corpsman

4. EMT/Paramedic

5. Registered Nurse or LPN

6. Nurse Practitioner

7. Physician