New Delhi: All is not well with the health of Keralites.

Kerala tops other states in the country in the consumption of medicines due to health problems, according to the Union Health Ministry. The annual per capita expenditure on medicines in Kerala is Rs 2,567, as per the reply given by the Health Ministry to a question in the Lok Sabha.

Out of this, 88.43 per cent medicines are prescribed by the doctors, while 11.57 is over-the-counter purchases.

The lowest consumption of medicines is in Bihar with the annual per capita expenditure of Rs 298.

The states leading in the number of prescriptions by doctors are Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala. In contrast, Assam, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are ahead in the number of over-the-counter purchases without doctors prescription.