The ICST COPD Management and Prescribing guideline standardises the diagnostic process, and provides a consistent approach to care. The aim of this guideline is to optimise the greatest-value interventions for COPD which will help to reduce exacerbations and hospital admissions and save millions of pounds through correct inhaler prescribing.

Key Recommendations:

• Identify objective evidence for a diagnosis of COPD
• Refer for smoking cessation therapy, flu vaccination, pulmonary rehabilitation, and oxygen assessment
• Categorise a patient according to their phenotype, to guide inhaled therapy