[Recommendations for invasive home mechanical ventilation]

Due to chronic respiratory failure, a proportion of patients require long-term home ventilation therapy. The treating doctors, nurses and therapists, as well as employees of the health insurance provider, all require specialized knowledge in order to establish and monitor home ventilation. The following document represents a consensus formed by the participating specialist societies, the health insurers and their medical advisory services. The recommendations for accomplishing home mechanical ventilation are based on the "S2 Guidelines for Non-Invasive and Invasive Mechanical Ventilation for Treatment of Chronic Respiratory Failure", and provide advice about the necessary qualifications of medical and nursing practitioners working in specialised ventilation centres or in the home setting. Management of transfer, which comprises the medical, technical and organisational requirements for releasing the patient from hospital care, is of paramount importance. In outpatient care, the requirements for the recruitment of resources, monitoring of procedures, adjustment of ventilation, and frequency of check-ups are each addressed. The recommendations are supplemented by appendices which include patient transfer forms, checklists for the supply of basic resources for home ventilation, as well as a template for the letter of discharge from hospital.