Today's Globe: waits for doctors, possible Farmer post, proposed health cuts, Partners loss, payroll tax plan, CDC pick, ginger for chemo nausea, swine flu vaccine, Pfizer giveaway, sealant OK

Despite Boston's abundance of top-notch medical specialists, the waits to see dermatologists, obstetrician-gynecologists, and orthopedic surgeons for routine care have grown longer - to as much as a year for the busiest doctors.

Dr. Paul Farmer, the global health crusader who has crafted lifesaving projects from Haiti to Rwanda, has told colleagues privately that he is mulling a possible appointment by the Obama administration to coordinate the United States' growing overseas health initiatives.

The state Senate's plan to cut 28,000 legal immigrant residents from Commonwealth Care coverage, the crown jewel of the state's 2006 health insurance overhaul, is discriminatory and shortsighted, advocates for the immigrant community say.

Partners HealthCare narrowed its loss in the second quarter, but still reported a $151 million deficit through the first half of its 2009 fiscal year, largely because of investment declines.

Frustrated by slow progress in convincing tax-exempt colleges and hospitals to make voluntary payments to the city, a Boston city councilor is considering a more aggressive tack: a payroll tax.

President Obama will announce today he has chosen Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the New York City health commissioner, as the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, administration officials said yesterday.

Simply adding a teaspoon of ginger to food consumed in the days before, during, and after chemotherapy can reduce the often debilitating side effects of nausea and vomiting, a large, randomized clinical trial has found. And a newer type of antinausea drug, when added to standard medications, can help prevent such side effects as well.

As swine flu cases topped 6,600 worldwide, vaccine makers and other specialists met yesterday at the World Health Organization to discuss the tough decisions that must be made quickly to fight the evolving virus.

Pfizer Inc. said yesterday it will give away more than 70 of its most widely prescribed drugs, including Lipitor and Viagra, for up to a year to people who have lost jobs since Jan. 1 and have been taking the drug for three months or more.

Government health advisers unanimously recommended yesterday that a sealant formula from Covidien Ltd. be approved for use during spinal surgery, pending certain conditions.