The non-partisan Aspen Institute wants presidential candidates to say how they would change the health system’s dysfunctional culture–not just address matters of cost and access to care.And the think tank is working on an initiative with some heavy-hitters that, among other things, aims to provide a checklist to voters so they can evaluate how far [...]

  The Food and Drug Administration is about to warn doctors about hazards with drugs used to enhance the diagnosis of heart problems using ultrasound imaging machines.A spokeswoman for the agency told the Health Blog that it “has been investigating reports of deaths and serious cardiopulmonary reactions.” The FDA will alert health-care professionals about the “serious [...]

  Merck won a Vioxx trial in a Florida state court this afternoon. The jury deliberated for two and a half hours before unanimously finding that Vioxx didn’t cause the heart attack of Refik Kozic. The win puts Merck’s Vioxx record at 11-5, with 27,000 lawsuits pending.One of Merck’s key witnesses was Briggs Morrison, a research [...]

  It’s both a burden and a pleasure to pan for health gold on the Internet each day. The nuggets are sometimes hard to come by. But on really good days, we get to read a post from the blog Aggravated DocSurg.First, even by the tough standards of the operating room, it’s clear the anonymous surgeon [...]

  Insurance giant Aetna has caused a stir by providing consumers with the prices that it negotiates with doctors.Now Aetna says member can find out how much they can expect to pay for 30 common procedures, whether they’re performed in hospitals, surgical centers or other free-standing facilities. The breakdown includes the facility charges, physician fees and [...]

  Eli Lilly has been dogged by concerns about the safety of its drug Zyprexa, which is approved to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.This morning the company said it’s beefing up the warnings on weight gain and increases in blood sugar, cholesterol and other fats associated with taking Zyprexa. The drug, Lilly’s biggest seller, already carried [...]

  Four years ago, malpractice payments joined the short list of things that are not bigger in Texas. Now doctors are flocking to the state, the New York Times reports.A 2003 referendum barred courts from interfering with malpractice caps set by the Legislature — $250,000 from the doctor for pain and suffering, and $1.6 million in [...]

  When you’ve got an experimental drug that looks promising but is close kin to a pill that had one of the biggest flame-outs ever in late-stage trials, it makes sense to proceed with caution. That’s what Merck appears to be doing with its drug anacetrapib, which is supposed to raise the level of HDL, the [...]

  Premiums and deductibles for the Medicare drug benefit could rise for those senior citizens with a little more cash to spare.A plan is shaping up that would raise the share of costs paid by single seniors with incomes of more than $82,000 a year, and for couples with incomes over $164,000, the Washington Post reports [...]

  The FDA says it has a vision to tackle its mountainous backlog of generic drug applications–but donÂ’t expect an easy fix.In announcing a plan today, FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach said officials hope to streamline the approval process and bring cheaper generic drugs to market faster. The plan (most of whichwas actually floated at [...]