Federal Data Show California Doctors Lead Country in Prescribing Brand-Name Medications

California physicians in 2011 led the country in prescribing brand-name drugs, according to federal data analyzed by ProPublica. Nearly 22% of the 65 million Medicare Part D claims filed in 2011 by California doctors were for brand-name drugs. Meanwhile, four Los Angeles-area doctors were the highest prescribers in the country of certain brand-name drugs, according to the data.

• "California Doctors Lead Nation in Prescribing Brand-Name Drugs" (Abram, Los Angeles Daily News, 11/19).