Initial diagnosis and management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Australia: views from the coal face.

There is scope for major improvement in GP familiarity with and use of COPD management guidelines and readily available tools and resources. Some systematic issues were highlighted in the Australian primary care setting, such as a reactive and relatively passive and delayed approach to diagnosis, potentially delayed smoking cessation advice and underutilisation of pulmonary rehabilitation. There is an urgent need to devise strategies for improving patient outcomes in COPD using resources that are readily available.