Medication prescription patterns in cancer rehabilitation physiatry outpatients: A multicenter retrospective study

Treating pain appears to be a predominant but not sole focus of medication prescription in this population. Results illuminate prescribing trends seen in actual practice and may serve to inform individual cancer rehabilitation physiatrist practice, as well as to provide insight into possible directions for future research, such as focusing on frequently prescribed medications in controlled trials, and further examination of "other" medications, which were prescribed at a higher frequency than anticipated. Limitations include that factors underlying the observations could not be determined, including overall acuity; cancer type, stage, or phase; probable impact of differences in dispensation of refills depending on medication type; variability in clinically intended purposes of medications for specific cases; and possible regulatory or institution-specific contexts.