WEST VIRGINIANS LEAD NATION IN PRESCRIPTION DRUG USE

(02/07/2008)

West Virginia has now out-ranked Tennessee as the nation's biggest user of prescription drugs per capita, according to Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Either Mountain State residents are sicker more often or state physicians tend to give them a lot of medication, or both. Several Huntington WV pharmacists disputed the finding. Blue Cross-Blue Shield says West Virginia had 17.4 prescriptions per capita in 2006, compared with 16.9 prescriptions per person in Tennessee. The report uses data from drug company Novartis' most recent Pharmacy Benefit Report. The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources is yet to comment on the report.

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