Healthcare an aspect of the economy that was long felt to be invulnerable to the economic cycle appears to be  as vulnerable as any other aspect if recent trends are anything to go on. IMS Health reports that the number of prescriptions  being filled had lessened by  0.5% from the same time span a year ago and that the second quarter had even greater results of lowered spending showing a lessening 1.97% from  the same second quarter time span last year. The CEO of Walgreens Jeffrey Rein speaking to a conference of investors earlier in September said that the pharmacy industry had seen what he called the "tightest prescription market" in the 27 years of his career. Additionally since 2006 the number of visits to the physician has continued to decrease by over 1 percent since the end of 2006 lowering 1.2 percent between July 2007 and July 2008. Last month a survey conducted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners found that 22 percent of those who responded to the survey did not visit a doctor because of cost or payment concerns. 686 people responded to that survey. Additionally health insurance claims from over 250 000 employees  who are enrolled in varied and diverse  health plans by their employuers saw that the workers are seeking out health care less frequently. Our own personal experience with family and friends tends to agree with this concensus and from first hand knowledge we can attest to the fact that many people who may require services for injuries or illness are forgoing them in favor of other kinds of care including herbal remedies up to and including not seeking out suturing for cuts. What this means to the health care provider remains to be seen but common sense tells us that if the general public is on a lowered trend toward basic health care we will be seeing as a result of it more long term care necessities as the lack of health care catches up with the general public over time. As basic health care is let go and health screenings are not attended to we can if trends continue likely expect to see that more and more patients will let go those minor illnesses until they become major ones. It can be expected that we will see increases in serious illnesses which could have been prevented. The full article explanations and accompanying report links can be found at:Medical News Todayhttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/122501.php