RT Journal
A1 Wang TJ, Stafford RS
T1 PRoblems with measuring the use of β-blockers in ambulatory settings for secondary prevention in patients with coronary artery disease
JF Archives of Internal Medicine
JO Archives of Internal Medicine
YR 1999
FD April 12
VO 159
IS 7
SP 755
OP 756
DO 
UL http://dx.doi.org/
AB 
Kakaiya and Warnhoff may have misunderstood several aspects of our methods. For instance, our analyses did not rely on patient recollection because survey forms were filled out by physicians, not patients. Furthermore, the coded medication lists include all medications regardless of how they were obtained (office sample or pharmacy bought). Second, our sample sizes were large enough to make annual estimates of β-blocker usage. The year with the fewest visits was 1996, where 710 visits were available for analysis. Annual rates of β-blocker use did rise, from 17% in 1993 to 25% in 1996, a point we highlight in the discussion and Figure 1 of our article.1 Even so, we found it surprising that in 1996 three fourths of patients with a diagnosis of coronary artery disease were not on a regimen that included β-blockers.