By DAVID ARMSTRONG http://online.wsj.com/ A former Pfizer Inc. official in a lawsuit accused the company of illegally boosting sales of its top-selling drug Lipitor through an elaborate campaign of misleading educational programs for doctors. Jesse Polansky, claims that the educational campaign was a key part of a marketing strategy that “led thousands of physicians to […]

Author: Martha Lagace http://hbswk.hbs.edu What used to be rare is now commonplace: traveling abroad to receive medical treatment, and to a developing country at that. So-called medical tourism is on the rise for everything from cardiac care to plastic surgery to hip and knee replacements. As a recent Harvard Business School case study describes, the […]

http://www.insurancejournal.com/ Lloyds’s insurer, Marketform Group Limited, which specilizes in non-US medical malpractice and other specialty lines, announced that American Financial Group Inc. (AFG) is to become the majority shareholder in its business, increasing the Company’s presence as an international specialist insurer. The acquisition, which remains subject to approval by Lloyd’s and the UK’s Financial Services […]

http://news.yahoo.com/ Reuters Doctors should defer giving booster shots of a widely used childhood vaccine in the wake of a voluntary recall last week of 1.2 million doses by Merck & Co Inc, U.S. health authorities said on Wednesday. Merck recalled its vaccine against Hib disease (Haemophilus influenzae type b) after quality-control checks found production equipment […]

CEO’s college pal funds executive chair Barb Galbincea Plain Dealer Reporter A $5 million donation to the Cleveland Clinic is aimed at supporting continued innovation in health care and saying thank you to a friend. The money is from Buffalo businessman Robert Rich Jr. and his wife, Mindy, also a company executive. Robert Rich was […]

By Liz Welter Marshfield News-Herald http://www.wausaudailyherald.com Not many small towns can support a medical practice. Athens, with a population of about 1,000, now has two. After working for 10 years as the physician at the Marshfield Clinic Athens Center, Dr. Vinoo Cameron on Aug. 2 opened Hope Clinic just across the street. The Internet, computers […]

Bill has a number of provisions impacting Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP Late yesterday the Senate passed on a voice vote the Medicare reform legislation from the Finance Committee. The summary of Medicare provisions in the legislation being considered today in the House was released just yesterday by the Senate Finance Committee. The lead provision, which […]

by Joan Trombetti, Writer http://www.dotmed.com According to the Medical Liability Monitor survey, the largest of its kind to track how much insurance carriers charge physicians, for the second year in a row, medical liability insurance rates are easing nationwide, with nearly 84% of company-reported rates holding steady or dipping in 2007. The report stated that […]

By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press Writer yahoo.com Physicians will get a six-month reprieve from a 10 percent rate cut when treating Medicare patients under legislation that passed the Senate on Tuesday. The pay cut for doctors had been scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. Doctors had warned that a cut in reimbursement rates would lead […]