Diagnosis, management and delivery of care for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains an important issue for clinicians. COPD accounts for more than 10% of emergency hospital admissions. The 2008 National COPD Audit showed that the 90-day mortality rate after a COPD hospitalisation was 13.9% and almost one in three patients discharged from hospital were readmitted within three months. Over the past decade a huge number of publications have strengthened the evidence base which is the foundation for COPD management while the development of a National Clinical Strategy for COPD and the 2010 update to the NICE COPD guidelines should help implementation of an evidence-based approach to management. At the time of writing (November 2010) the consultation phase of the National Clinical Strategy had been completed but no publication date had been set.