**5. Landmark academic events in HBOT**

In September 1961, the First International Congress on the clinical applications of hyperbaric oxygen was held in Amsterdam. The Second International Conference on HBO was held in Glasgow in September 1964, with detailed deliberations on various aspects of HBOT. In November 1965, the Third International Congress on HBOT was organized at the Duke University at Durham, North Carolina. The Fourth and Fifth International Congresses were held in Sapporo, Japan, and Vancouver, respectively, in 1969 and 1973. The University of Aberdeen, Scotland, hosted the sixth conference in August 1977. The subsequent International Congress was held in Moscow in 1981 and is an annual event thereafter. The deliberations during these academic forums threw fresh light on the basic physiology, oxygen toxicity, and therapeutic applications of HBO in human disease.

The Undersea Medical Society (it added hyperbaric to its name in 1986), an organization made up largely of naval and ex-navy physicians, was founded in 1967 in the USA. It reviewed the indiscriminate and inappropriate use of the HBO chamber for a variety of medical conditions by practitioners searching for a "cure-all" therapy, tarnishing the credibility of hyperbaric medicine. This nonprofit organization, now known as the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS), set up a Committee on Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in the 1970s to systematically review all the available scientific evidence for HBOT and formulate absolute indications for HBOT. This was accepted by insurance providers, including Medicare. The UHMS is committed to providing, promoting, developing, and raising the quality of care across the spectrum in scientific communication, life sciences, and clinical practices of hyperbaric medicine by promoting high standards of patient care and operational safety. It offers accreditation and certificate of competency and credibility and has over 2500 members in 50 countries. UHMS also awards board certification in Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine through the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM), the American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM), and fellowship training in Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine.

In 1980, Dr. Richard A. Neubauer and Dr. William S. Maxfield formed the American College of Hyperbaric Medicine (ACHM) to foster the ethical advancement and expansion of hyperbaric medicine. The International Society of Hyperbaric Medicine was founded in 1988.

Hyperbaric medicine was approved by the American Board of Medical Specialties as a sub-specialty of emergency and preventative medicine in 2000.
