Health-related quality of life measurement in pharmaceutical care Targeting an outcome that matters

Abstract

The shift in emphasis of healthcare from dealing only with disease and death to also managing illness, meant that healthcare providers started to realise the importance of assessing the quality of the patient's life as a new therapeutic outcome. This is equally true in the evolving concept of pharmaceutical care, the ultimate target of which is improving the patient's quality of life (QoL) through a cooperative alliance between the pharmacist and the patient. This article discusses the place of QoL assessment in today's healthcare environment, with special emphasis on its use in the practice of pharmaceutical care.

Pharmaceutical care, European developments in concepts, implementation, teaching, and research: a review

“…But to date only very few studies have shown that impact in the field of humanistic outcomes, in spite of the thorough analysis of the problem. This might be, at least in part, due to the inadequacy of the instruments available 29 .…”

Health‐related quality of life is maintained in hemodialysis patients receiving pharmaceutical care: A 2‐year randomized, controlled study

“…Despite compelling evaluations documenting poor HRQOL and a large medication burden in HD patients, few studies have examined interventions that could improve HRQOL. Clinical pharmacists provide pharmaceutical care (PC) defined by Hepler and Strand in 1990 as “the responsible provision of drug therapy for the purpose of achieving definite outcomes that improve the patient's quality of life.” 5 Thus, these practitioners play a pivotal role in providing disease state management and identifying medication‐related problems (MRPs) that can directly affect HRQOL in HD patients 6 . Medication‐related problems often lead to hospitalizations and can affect clinical outcomes that have been correlated with decreased HRQOL 7 .…”

Assessing the responsiveness of the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire with pharmaceutical care

“…As pharmaceutical care providers, pharmacists thus become more involved in disease management of chronic conditions. As the ultimate goal of pharmaceutical care delivery is to improve the patient's QoL, assessment of the impact of pharmaceutical care on QoL is both relevant and important [4]. However, this requires instruments that are responsive enough to reflect change in QoL over time and with intervention.…”