The tentacles of the economic slowdown are spreading.

According to ChangeWave's latest healthcare survey, the medical industry is now seeing a deceleration in patient spending. The survey of 260 doctors, conducted August 21-26, 2008, shows patients are succumbing to tougher times and cutting corners in terms of health spending.

But just how frugal are patients becoming?

To get a better understanding, we asked doctors if they've noticed any change in the frequency of patient visits over the past year. Better than one-in-five (22%) said their patients have been visiting "Less Frequently," compared to just 18% who said "More Frequently."

We next asked doctors a series of true-false questions about their practice/clinical environment.

The following chart summarizes some of the key changes doctors are seeing in patient attitudes and behavior.

Not only do three-in-four doctors (73%) say patients are more concerned with medical costs than they were a year ago, but 38% report their patients are actually breaking pills or taking lower doses of medication to prolong the life of their prescriptions.

Another 34% of doctors say they've noticed a greater number of patients refusing recommended tests or procedures because of cost, and one-in-four (24%) report the number of patients who actually fill their prescriptions has been decreasing.

So which company is set to take the biggest hit based on these results?