Journal of hospital medicine : an official publication of the Society of Hospital Medicine
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Usage of medication brand names in electronic health records may introduce conflicts of interest, perpetuate false perceptions of brand superiority, alter prescribing practices, and cause confusion leading to errors. ⋯ A total of 104,456,653 notes from 37,285 unique authors were included in our analysis. A total of 162,906,009 medication mentions were identified, of which 36.0% were brand name mentions with a steady year-over-year decrease. Factors associated with the usage of a brand name include: author role, years since release, length and syllabic complexity of the generic name, service type, and encounter context. Over-the-counter availability did not affect usage. There was sizable individual variation between note writers.
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Physical therapy (PT) appears beneficial for hospitalized patients. Little is known about PT practice patterns and costs across hospitals. ⋯ Both clinical (intensive care utilization and comorbidity status) and non-clinical (age, race, rurality, location) factors were associated with receiving PT. Within and between hospitals, there was high variability in the number and frequency of visits, and costs.