The recent news that pharmaceutical giants Eli Lilly and Merck will voluntarily disclose payments to physicians represents a positive step in the area of disclosure, but much more needs to be done to help ensure that doctors' financial interests do not factor into their decisions regarding patients' health and wellbeing.

It should not come as a surprise that hospitals vary in the quality of care that they provide. Consumers now have a new tool to enable them to discover the best hospitals for some of the most common hospital stays. “Hospital Compare” is a government initiative that provides access to the best estimates for every U.S. hospital for the last two years for some of the most widely accepted yardsticks of hospital performance, such as death rates for patients suffering heart attacks, heart failure or pneumonia, as well as certain surgical procedures such as heart bypass surgery, hernia operations, knee/ankle surgeries, or female reproductive procedures.

Planning for the “worst case scenario” is not typically the first thing that comes to mind when booking vacations or business travel. But according to travel industry health experts, many travelers are often reminded while abroad that illness, injury, automobile accidents and other misfortunes can happen anywhere and anytime.

The partners and associates of Gamba & Lombana have helped many local Hispanics who have been injured due to the negligence of others to obtain just compensation for their injuries. In order to reach South Florida Hispanics to inform them about their legal rights, the firm recently launched the “Leyes y Derechos” (laws and rights) show on local Spanish-language radio station WSUA 1260-AM, “Radio Caracol.”