GOALS:

• Reduce current practice variation and provide facilities with a structured framework to improve patient outcomes
• Provide evidence-based recommendations to assist providers and their patients in selecting the optimal choices in the decision-making process for the management and care for COPD
• Establish priorities for future research that are lacking in this field
• Develop outcome measurements to generate practice-based evidence that can ultimately be used to improve clinical guidelines.

Version 2.0
May 2007

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and The Department of Defense (DoD) guidelines are based upon the best information available at the time of publication.  They are designed to provide information and assist decision-making.  They are not intended to define a standard of care, and should not be construed as one.  Neither should they be interpreted as prescribing an exclusive course of management.

Variations in practice will inevitably and appropriately occur when clinicians take into account the needs of individual patients, available resources, and limitations unique to an institution or type of practice.  Every healthcare professional making use of these guidelines is responsible for evaluating the appropriateness of applying them in the setting of any particular clinical situation