There has been a growing body of evidence, much of it anecdotal, that the nation’s economic downturn has people putting aside their medical needs to make ends meet. New evidence of this came in the form of a front page story in The New York Times this week that reported for the first time in a decade the number of prescription drugs dispensed through August was lower than the same period a year ago, according to data from IMS Health. Though there are several factors at work including safety concerns about some big sellers and the move of some drugs to over-the-counter, there is evidence that people are cutting back on their use of drugs to save money.  Of course, this could lead to much higher healthcare costs as people reduce or eliminate treatments such as statins, but it also raises questions about how recession-proof the healthcare industry will be this down cycle.