Assessing pharmacotherapy outcomes: a model for clinicians

Health-related quality of life (HQL) has become an important therapeutic end point of pharmacologic therapy. As a result, clinicians will be increasingly called on to assess HQL outcomes associated with medication use. The review of HQL measures and the model described here should provide clinicians with the necessary framework to assess medication outcomes more globally so that they can identify and quantify medication-induced changes and guide management decisions, use resources efficiently, and improve patient satisfaction with care.