Context: A major problem preventing effective counteracting of the projected rise in the burden of COPD is the insufficient awareness of, and nihilism towards this disabling disease among all stakeholders, i.e. general public, patients, healthcare professionals and healthcare payers. Reasons behind this vary from unawareness of the disease by the general public; poor recognition of symptoms as well as underpresentation by patients who simply attribute their symptoms to a mix of smoking and ageing [1] and poor knowledge of the disease among healthcare givers, who overlook symptoms and fail to diagnose the disease, sometimes only until it has considerably progressed. Furthermore at present there is no appreciation of the burden of disease by healthcare payers and finally there is insufficient awareness of the current magnitude of the problem with politicians and especially about the projected rise in morbidity and mortality of COPD [2].

Purpose: The current nihilism is a great barrier towards structural improvement of COPD management. So it is important to identify the treatable elements of the disease, to further document and make known and understand that those can be treated, and to make interventions measurable and implementable for the relevant stakeholder groups.

Description: PICASSO for COPD is a national platform for COPD care optimisation and combines knowledge, experience and resources to support new and existing COPD projects, and stimulates the interaction between these initiatives. After 5 years of working within the field of COPD we have interesting data together with knowledge and structures for improving COPD care.

Note: A selection of this abstract was also published as: van Schayck CP, Bindels PJE, Decramer M, Dekhuijzen PNR, Kerstjens HAM, Muris JWM, et al. Marking COPD a treatable disease: an integrated care perspective. Respiratory Medicine 2007 COPD update