Evaluating hospital at home and early discharge schemes for patients with an acute exacerbation of COPD.
Hospital at home and early discharge schemes for patients experiencing an acute exacerbation of their chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, appear to be an effective and safe option for selected patients and these services have become increasingly common. Here we discuss the evaluation of such schemes including: the rationale for evaluation; aspects of quality which might be considered for evaluation; the role of evaluation frameworks, quantitative and qualitative evaluation and steps in planning an evaluation.
Taylor
S
S
Centre for Health Sciences, Barts and The London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of London, London, UK. s.j.c.taylor@qmul.ac.uk
Eldridge
S
S
Chang
Y M
YM
Sohanpal
R
R
Clarke
A
A
D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods*; D018575:Home Care Services, Hospital-Based; D006801:Humans; D010351:Patient Discharge; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000451:nursing*