The Boston Business Journal reports on a man who has lost his chance at suing his doctors at Beth Israel for malpractice because his lawyer failed SIX TIMES to file legal documents on time.

Oh, if only Neil Chayet were still around to come up with a suitable pun for this story.

The Boston Business Journal reports the chain will be giving away 36 different types of generic prescription drugs (so, yeah, you'll need a valid prescription) between Jan. 2 and March 21 as a publicity stunt to help financially beleaguered customers.

Charley on the MTA recommends the Globe's latest story on our own little health-care cartel, and sums up what this and revelations about local doctors pushing pills while getting paid by the drug companies really means:

... Health care costs, particularly in MA, are not just high because of some vague, unknowable "market forces"; it isn't just that the Health Care Invisible Hand mysteriously keeps us all under its thumb, and gosh golly, after all There's Nothing That Can Be Done.

No, it's simpler than that. We're actively, intentionally, unethically and possibly illegally getting screwed.

The Boston Business Journal reports the Cambridge Health Alliance, which operates Somerville Hospital, is looking at shifting all of the hospital's departments - except the emergency room - to Cambridge City Hospital as it struggles to close anticipated budget gaps next year. A spokesman says no decision has been made yet, however.

Channel 4 reports waits at Massachusetts emergency rooms are shrinking as hopsitals get ready for a new state regulation that forbids them from diverting patients to other hospitals.

Layoffs, program reductions coming.

Make the system as confusing and ridiculous as possible, like, say, send subscribers to Mass. Health new ID cards with new ID numbers, tell people to cut up the old cards and then, when they actually try to use the new cards, have them rejected by their providers because the new cards don't go into effect until January.

If you have 'em, this might come too late for you, but eat a piece of cake today anyway to help celebrate Massachusetts Influenza Awareness Week. And remember: Kids should get the shots, too.

Find a Massachusetts flu clinic.

The Globe reports on a study by researchers at Tufts and BU; one possible explanation: Americans are just too darn clean, so their kids' formative immune systems aren't exposed early on to substances that later on cause their immune systems to overreact.

Researcher Doug Brugge explains his findings in this NECN video from earlier this month:

Article abstract (you'll have to pay to read the whole thing).

A group of health-care bloggers, including Paul Levy of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Alexandra Drane, CEO of Beverly's Eliza Corp., have organized a "blog rally" to bring attention to end-of-life issues:

The idea is to get people to share just ONE slide that helps them and their loved ones talk about having a purposeful end-of-life experience. Thanksgiving is a perfect time for families and loved ones to have this most difficult of conversations. We've already had great publicity about Engage with Grace, and are getting national press exposure.

But to make this a viral movement we need your help. So on Wednesday Nov. 26 to Monday Nov. 30 we are going to leave one identical post up on The Health Care Blog and Running a Hospital.

Read more at Engage with Grace: