COPD Multidisciplinary Care Checklist Template

The COPD Multidisciplinary Care Checklist Template is a practical, evidence-based template designed to help hospital teams plan, deliver and document high-quality care for patients admitted with an acute COPD exacerbation. Created to align directly with the COPD Clinical Care Standard and the COPD-X Guidelines, this checklist supports consistent, coordinated and comprehensive care across the entire admission and discharge pathway.  

Developed for use by medical, nursing, pharmacy, physiotherapy and allied health clinicians, the checklist ensures that every essential component of acute COPD management is completed and recorded. It guides teams step-by-step through critical tasks such as smoking cessation support, inhaler device technique assessment and teaching, medication review, oxygen therapy, spirometry referral, vaccination discussions, pulmonary rehabilitation referral and discharge planning. This structured approach reduces variation in care, supports clinical decision-making and strengthens communication across disciplines. 

The checklist also plays a vital role in improving transitions of care. By prompting clinicians to update or provide a COPD Action Plan, arrange follow-up within seven days, notify the GP, and refer to programs such as pulmonary rehabilitation or transitional care, it ensures that patients leave hospital with the right supports in place to stay well at home. These evidence-based interventions are proven to improve patient outcomes, strengthen self-management and reduce the risk of future exacerbations. 

Importantly, the resource embeds a patient-centred approach. It includes prompts to provide Lung Foundation Australia’s My COPD Hospital Stay Checklist and encourages education that empowers patients to understand their condition, use their inhalers correctly and engage with ongoing care. This strengthens continuity, improves safety, and helps clinical teams deliver more proactive, reliable and sustainable COPD care across diverse hospital settings. 

For hospitals striving to deliver safer, more consistent COPD care, this multidisciplinary checklist provides a clear, practical and scalable mechanism to track care delivery, improve documentation, and support high-performing clinical teams.