What does therapeutic drug monitoring aim to achieve?

Therapeutic drug monitoring aims to measure drug levels in the blood to ensure that a patient receives an effective dose while minimizing potential toxicity. This practice is particularly important for medications with narrow therapeutic indices, where the difference between therapeutic and toxic levels is small. By regularly measuring the concentration of the drug in the patient's bloodstream, healthcare providers can make informed decisions about dosage adjustments, timing of administration, and overall treatment efficacy. This monitoring can enhance the safety and efficacy of pharmacotherapy, allowing for individualized treatment plans that account for variations in metabolism, patient adherence, and specific clinical circumstances.

The other options, while relevant to patient care, do not directly relate to the goal of therapeutic drug monitoring. Monitoring blood pressure, tracking patient weight, and assessing liver function serve different purposes and are not focused specifically on evaluating how much of a drug is present in the body.