Pharmacoeconomic evaluations also may focus on humanistic concerns. Methods for evaluating the impact of disease and treatment of disease on a patient's HRQOL, patient preferences, and patient satisfaction are all growing in popularity and application to pharmacotherapy decisions. These methods also can assist clinicians in quantifying the value of pharmaceuticals.

HRQOL has been defined as the assessment of the functional effects of illness and its consequent therapy as perceived by the patient.⁴⁰ These effects often are displayed as physical, emotional, and social effects on the patient.¹⁷ Measurement of HRQOL usually is achieved through the use of patient-completed questionnaires. Many questionnaires are available, and most are either disease-specific or generic measures of health status.^41,42 Various overviews on HRQOL and its application to pharmacy have been published.^15,42–45 For further discussion on health outcomes and HRQOL, refer to Chapter 2.