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Introduction: Guidelines recommend that patients on home oxygen therapy should be followed up regularly. Study objective: To compare rate of follow-up at hospitals with opportunity to visit patients on home oxygen therapy at home to the rate of follow-up at hospitals without this facility. Design and setting: A prospective study of patients on home oxygen therapy from five large hospitals. At three hospitals, a respiratory nurse followed up patients (n=774) either in the outpatient clinic or at home. At two hospitals, home visits of patients on home oxygen therapy (n=438) were not an opportunity. Study period was 4 months. Results: Compared to hospitals without home visits, hospitals with home visits had followed up significant more patients (41.9% versus 23.3%; p |
