About Us
Why this project exists
Thousands of Canadians face barriers to accessing Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy — whether they are formally denied, told their condition is not on an approved indication list, or unable to access HBOT because of cost, geography, or lack of a referral. The Canadian HBOT Registry exists to give those experiences structure, visibility, and weight.
Our mission
The Canadian HBOT Registry exists to document the barriers Canadians face when trying to access hyperbaric oxygen therapy. These barriers affect people seeking HBOT for recognized indications, people pursuing emerging or non-recognized applications, and people who must rely on private-pay, out-of-province, or cross-border routes when the Canadian system does not provide a viable path.
In Canada, access to HBOT is shaped by device licensing, institutional policies, public coverage rules, practitioner gatekeeping, and uneven geographic availability. CHR exists to document how those structures affect real people and to provide a factual basis for better public understanding, fairer policy, and broader access.
What CHR is not
CHR is not a clinic, does not provide medical advice, and does not replace professional care. It is a public-interest documentation and advocacy project focused on understanding how Canadians are blocked or burdened when seeking HBOT.
Who can submit?
Anyone who lives in Canada, or who has sought HBOT care in Canada, and has faced barriers to accessing HBOT for any condition is welcome to submit a story. This includes people who were formally denied HBOT, who were told HBOT is not available because their condition is not on the approved indication list, or who could not access HBOT because of cost, geography, or lack of referral. No experience is too small — even being told “we cannot help you” is a documented barrier.
Evidence-Centred
We anchor every argument in peer-reviewed science and documented patient outcomes. Anecdote alone is not advocacy — but when systematically collected, individual accounts become meaningful data.
Privacy-First
Submissions are encrypted in transit and stored in a controlled database accessible only to project administrators. We will never sell, trade, or share personally identifiable information without explicit, written consent.
Non-Partisan
We make no political endorsements and accept no institutional funding that would compromise our independence. Our allegiance is to evidence and to the individuals who share their stories with us.
Canadian Focus
Provincial health plans vary widely. We specifically document experiences within Canada's healthcare landscape — where federal and provincial jurisdiction intersect in ways that often disadvantage patients seeking HBOT.
How your submission is used
From intake to impact — your experience moves through a careful, privacy-preserving process.
- 01
You submit your experience
Using our confidential intake form, you describe the barriers you encountered in accessing HBOT. We ask about your condition, how you sought treatment, what response you received, and whether you have documentation.
- 02
We review and code submissions
Each submission is reviewed and coded by our research team. We identify patterns — recurring barriers, specific insurer or provincial policy gaps, conditions most often excluded from coverage — to build a structured dataset.
- 03
Anonymized reports go to decision-makers
We prepare anonymized aggregate reports and share them with provincial health ministers, patient advocacy organizations, healthcare lawyers, and academic researchers studying access-to-care inequities.
- 04
Stories inform public advocacy
With your explicit consent, de-identified accounts may appear in public-facing materials — submissions to parliamentary committees, open letters, or media briefings — always with privacy fully protected.
Ready to contribute?
Sharing your experience takes less than 10 minutes and makes a genuine difference.
Our Health Perspective
Our work is informed by simple laws of health — such as air, rest, nutrition, water, and trust in God — and a whole-person view of well-being, which together shape how we think about HBOT and access to care.