New Mexico Just Ranked Number 1 in the Country for Prescription Abandonment — and the Reason Has Almost Nothing to Do With Drug Prices

New Mexico ranks number one in the United States for prescription abandonment risk. What Primary Care Shortage Actually Means in PracticeA federally designated primary care shortage area is a geographic area, population group, or facility with an insufficient number of primary care physicians relative to the population served. Its primary care provider shortage score was the most severe in the country at 19.8 out of 25. The pattern across the top five is that prescription abandonment is not one problem. Prescription abandonment is the leading indicator that the front end of the system — where chronic disease management happens — is not working.