1. Monitoring of certain drugs theophylline, valproic acid, and methotrexate is associated with increased efficacy and decreased incidences and side effects.
2. Monitoring determines the safety of the dosage regimen.
If the serum concentration is outside the therapeutic range, drug concentration
measurements are not required. As a response
to the drug such as; amino-glycoside antibiotics, varies from patient to
patient, precision is not maintained due to empiric dosing.
3. Appropriate interpretation of drug concentration
measurements is used in the monitoring for dosage adjustment that minimizes the
proportion of patients with serum concentration outside the therapeutic
range.
4. Monitoring encourages professional interactions
between members of the health teams such as physicians and pharmacists.
5. It provides an opportunity for a clinical
pharmacist to excel in therapeutic challenges and to work as a vital segment of
the health team in the area of pharmacotherapeutics.
6. It provides additional input in pharmacotherapy.
For example;
- Evaluation of medication by dosing modification in patients with impaired renal function.
- Selection of antibiotics, e.g. aminoglycoside antibiotics by empiric dosing or culture and sensitivity testing.
7. It is used to develop a dosing protocol that will
avoid non-optimum initial therapy.