The ways drugs are tested and marketed are under the spotlight these days:

• Liz Kowalczyk at White Coat Notes reports that doctors at Massachusetts Partners HealthCare hospitals will  no longer be allowed to accept gifts, meals, or “speakers bureau” travel from drug companies.
• Sarah Rubenstein at WSJ’s Health Blog explores the new Johns Hopkins policy, which is banning free drug-company samples as well as doctor gifts and meals.
• Roy M. Poses MD at Health Care Renewal responds to a Wall Street Journal op-ed that bemoans the criticism of ties between researchers and the pharmaceutical industry.
• Merril Goozner at GoozNews explains why it’s difficult for journal readers to detect bias in clinical trials, and suggests one solution.
• Janet D. Stemwedel at Adventures in Ethics and Science uses Pfizer’s Nigerian trial of a new antibiotic as an example of how not to conduct an ethical drug trial.

Elsewhere:

Andrew Schneider Investigates has the latest from the Missoula courtroom, where the judge in the WR Grace asbestos trial “came unglued.”

Maggie Mahar at Health Beat reminds us that we shouldn’t just focus on improving access to healthcare – the real goal is health, which has many factors.

Matthew Madia at The Fine Print explains what’s frustrating about the news surrounding the pistachio recall. 

Sonya Lunder at Enviroblog digests a new study on lead levels in older women and explains what it means for approaches to environmental health.

Andrew Leonard at How the World Works interviews new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairman John Wellinghoff, who explains what it will take to smarten up our electric grid.

Christine Gorman at Global Health Report explains what a 1987 interview with an AIDS patient taught her about journalism – and links it to a lesson and a warning about global health.

Hilzoy at Obsidian Wings tells a personal story to illustrate why victims of domestic violence find it so hard to leave their abusers.