http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2002/07/24/drug-usage-part-two.aspxPhysicians are prescribing medications at a far faster clip than they did two decades ago, a trend that is likely to result in a doubling of drug spending in the next 5 years. Between 1985 and 1999, the prescribing rate rose 34%, from 109 to 146 prescriptionsenCommunityServer 2008.5 SP1 (Build: 31106.3070)