Patient benefit as a goal of humanization

Abstract

Patient empowerment is one of the main pillars of humanisation. Therefore, considération of patients’ preferences and expectations should be taken into account during the practice of any healthcare professional. Improving overall survival and quality of life are the main wishes of patients. Indeed, the recent emergence of Patient Reported Outcomes has become an important focus for healthcare providers. The hospital pharmacist specialised in drug evaluation is a professional who evaluates the efficacy, safety, appropriateness and efficiency of treatments prescribed by physicians, and decision-making must be based on both technical factors and the four principles of bioethics. The correct application of evidence-based clinical practice allows to provide patients with increases in survival and/or quality of life, adapting the convenience and costs to the current situation. With this in mind, it could be said that the evaluation of medicines involves a strong commitment to humanisation. On the other hand, organisations that promote the rigorous evaluation and selection of medicines stand as allies of patients, as they have a direct impact on them and an indirect impact on society. Regulatory agencies in charge of approving and financing medicines in healthcare systems play a key role in the process of humanising clinical decision-making and empowering patients. If these agencies approve the use of new medicines based on data that do not measure quality of life or survival of patients when there are already other therapeutic alternatives for these pathologies, they are indirectly failing to meet patients’ expectations and are infringing bioethical principles. This can have a considerable influence on the benefit-risk ratio of drugs, and patients may be treated with regimens that do not provide benefit, or may even harm them. Therefore, where should the process of humanisation be oriented? It seems reasonable that the benefit of the patient should be the fundamental objective of the process of humanisation of healthcare, evidently.