Today's Globe: older drivers, protein test for heart attack, Dunkin' Donuts halt, anemia drug, Wal-Mart on coverage, Orrie Friedman, gift-ban law

Edward Givler is a retired race car hobbyist who once held a lap record on New England’s largest speedway, but when he ambled slowly into the waiting room of a Boston hospital recently, his ambitions as a motorist were far more humble. He wanted to find out if he should continue to drive.

Researchers, led by cardiologists at Massachusetts General Hospital, reported yesterday that testing patients for a protein associated with inflammation may help predict the risk of heart attacks and strokes in certain cases but that it is probably not useful as a widespread, routine screening tool.

Dunkin’ Donuts has temporarily halted the sale of hot chocolate and Dunkaccino brand beverages after learning that some equipment used at a supplier’s facility was contaminated with salmonella (third item).

Lexington drug maker Amag Pharmaceuticals Inc. said yesterday it has won approval for an iron replacement therapy with the potential to be its first blockbuster drug.

Wal-Mart has embraced President Obama’s call for requiring all large employers to offer health insurance to their workers, adding momentum to the president’s push for far-reaching changes to the nation’s healthcare system.

Dr. Orrie M. Friedman, who founded Collaborative Research Inc., which helped pioneer the field of biotechnology, then used his riches for philanthropy, died in his Brookline home Sunday of complications from Parkinson’s disease. He was 94.

"As the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and its 6 million residents struggle to pay their medical bills, they have a new tool on their side, starting today. A law cracking down on the marketing that pharmaceutical firms do with doctors goes into effect," A Globe editorial says. "No one expects miracles from the new rules, but they should ensure that doctors’ prescribing decisions will focus more on patient needs and less on the gifts and fancy meals many doctors have long received from drug companies."