The talks will be held 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. every Thursday of the month.

What’s Stress Got to Do with It? — February 2

Dr. Bonnie McGregor is a behavioral medicine pioneer interested in how psychological factors affect the health of our bodies and our minds. Hear how stress influences our vulnerability to disease, and how stress management techniques can help you reduce your own disease risk.

Stem-cell Therapy: The Hope, the Hype and the Real Potential – February 9

Join Drs. Beverly Torok-Storb, Tony Blau, Phil Horner and Chuck Murry in a discussion of stem-cell research. Learn about the different types of stem cells, common misunderstandings about stem-cell work, clinical therapies being explored and what these researchers envision for the future.

Cancer and Infectious Diseases: Making a Global Impact – February 16

Did you know that nearly a quarter of cancers around the world are infection caused or related? Meet Dr. Corey Casper, the force behind the Hutchinson Center’s research on infection-related cancers in Uganda. By focusing efforts in a country with a higher disease burden, we hope to understand how chronic infections lead to cancer, including why this happens in some of us and not in others.

Influenza: A Study in Evolution – February 23

Soon personal genomic sequences will be cheaper than personal computers. But genomic sequences don’t come with instruction manuals, so revealing what they tell us about evolution and disease remains a challenge. Dr. Jesse Bloom will take us on a journey along the evolutionary path followed by one influenza gene over the last 40 years, and reveal the obstacles and forces that shape genetic change as we attempt to understand evolution at the molecular level.

When:

Thursdays
February 2-23
7-8:30 pm

 Where:

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
1100 Fairview Ave. N., Seattle
Thomas Building
Pelton Auditorium

To Register go HERE.

Every week, KHN reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reads from around the Web.

TIME: Should Journals Describe How Scientists Made A Killer Flu?

In experiments conducted at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, researchers engineered a strain of H5N1. … The next logical step would be for the researchers to publish studies in major scientific journals, describing the newly created flu, including its genetic makeup. And that would mean that anyone with the proper scientific training — from another researcher to a terrorist — would likely be able to read the studies and potentially make the new H5N1 themselves. Cognizant of that risk, on Tuesday the U.S. government did an unprecedented thing: it asked scientific journals not to publish the details of the H5N1 experiments, for fear that the information could fall into the wrong hands and be used to create a bioweapon (Walsh, 12/21).

Image: 3-D model of the flu virus Credit: Dan Higgins/CDC

The New Republic: The Mandate Miscalculation

The story of the individual mandate is replete with ironies. (Barack) Obama spent much of the 2008 primary season denouncing the mandate, which Hillary Clinton supported.

At the time, Mitt Romney was strongly identified with the idea, which had been central to the reforms he introduced as governor of Massachusetts.

Four years later, Romney may be the nominee of a party that abhors the mandate, while Obama now defends it. Yet perhaps the greatest irony has to do with the mandate’s policy merits.

Many liberals assume that universal health care requires an individual mandate; but there are arguably better alternatives (Paul Starr, 12/14).

Salon: Why Women Have Second Trimester Abortions

Later abortions are no one’s ideal situation. … But as a new quantitative study from the Guttmacher Institute shows for the first time, most of these women aren’t living in ideal situations – they are likelier to be teens, to have less education and to have more disrupted lives.

The stereotype, says Susan Schewel, executive director of the Women’s Medical Fund in Philadelphia, is that women who have second-trimester abortions are “willfully irresponsible.But the women who call our help line are instead women who often are trying to be responsible, but their lives are so difficult. They have so many balls in the air, and more pressing financial needs – for example, housing. They just can’t manage everything” (Irin Carmon, 12/21).

American Medical News: Seven Land Mines Of Hospital Employment Contracts

For some physicians, a job with a hospital is a dream come true. A physician can practice medicine and have a steady paycheck, regular hours and none of the hassles that may come with a solo or small practice.

But to make it less likely that this dream will turn into a nightmare, physicians need not only read the contract but also be wary of potential land mines hidden within. …

Physicians tend to have more negotiating power when a hospital is trying to attract them rather than after several years of service, analysts said (Victoria Stagg Elliott, 12/19).

AARP Bulletin: The Case Of The Very Difficult Mother

Johnnie’s children and neighbors urged her to get medical help, but she refused. … Johnnie looked “real sick,” according to one EMT, and there was a strong odor of feces and urine.

At first, Johnnie would not leave, slapping at a paramedic and knocking off his glasses. Eventually, she agreed to go. When the ambulance personnel picked her up they saw feces, urine, pus and blood in the couch. Johnnie’s gown was covered with feces and urine, and she had bedsores. … After she left the hospital, Johnnie went to live in a nursing home.

On March 4, 2002, Stanley and Barbara were charged with one count of cruelty to the infirm. They argued that they did the best they could with their mother, despite her forceful refusals of help and her threatening manner. … Should Barbara and Stanley be charged with cruelty? How would you decide? (Robin Gerber, 12/19).

Illustration: Michal Zacharzewski

This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

Walgreens in Capitol Hill will offer flu shots at no charge to for adults and children age seven and older who are uninsured and cannot afford to pay.

Walgreens and Public Health – Seattle & King County are partnering to offer flu vaccinations at no charge on Saturday, Dec. 17 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Walgreens located at Broadway and Pine (1531 Broadway) on Capitol Hill in Seattle.

Vaccines will be offered at no charge for adults and children age seven and older who are uninsured and cannot afford to pay.

Health experts recommend that everyone get the flu vaccine to protect their health and the people around them.

The flu can cause significant lost time from work and school, as well as the expense of doctor visits. In some instances, it can also cause hospitalization and even death.

The flu clinic is an excellent opportunity for people who do not have health insurance to get a flu vaccination at no charge.

No appointments needed.

Date:

Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011

Time:

The flu clinic is open from 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. or until there is no more vaccine available.

Where:

Walgreens, 1531 Broadway, Seattle

Photo Credit: Dan Higgins/CDC

It is not too late to get your flu vaccine, if you have not gotten one already, health officials note.

And if you are uninsured and cannot afford to pay, this Saturday there’s an opportunity to get the shot for free.

Walgreens and Public Health – Seattle & King County are partnering to offer flu vaccinations at no charge on Saturday, Dec. 3 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Walgreens located at 17524 Aurora Ave. North in Shoreline.

Vaccines will be offered at no charge for adults and children age seven and older who are uninsured and cannot afford to pay.

No appointments are needed.

Flu activity is currently low in King County, which means there is still time to protect yourself and your family from the flu, health officials said.

Flu shots are also widely available at doctors’ offices, clinics, pharmacies, Public Health centers and other providers.

• To find a flu shot clinic, visit www.flucliniclocator.org.

• For complete information about seasonal influenza, including where to get a flu vaccine, please visit www.kingcounty.gov/health/flu.

Drugstore and supermarket pharmacies across the country have launched a marketing blitz to attract flu shot customers, touting the convenience of stopping at a local drugstore and often offering drop-in vaccinations anytime the pharmacy is open — sometimes even 24 hours a day.

Walgreens Pharmacist Scott Gershman gives a Band-Aid to Drew Troff in Springfield, Va., after injecting him with a flu shot. (Francis Ying/KHN)

“If you decided at 4 o’clock in the morning you wanted to go out and had nothing better to do than get a flu shot, you could walk right in and you could get a flu shot,” says Scott Gershman, pharmacy manager at a Walgreens drugstore in Springfield, Va. The wall outside his store is plastered with a giant sign reading “Walgreens flu shots. Walk in anytime.”

Just after the weather turned cold in late September, Shelley Troff and her 13-year-old son dropped by Gershman’s pharmacy one afternoon to get their annual shots.

Troff says she didn’t even consider going to her doctor’s office. “To be frankly honest, Walgreens is easier,” she explains. “Since this is one mile from my house and the clinic is 20 minutes from my house, this is where I come.”

Pharmacies usually charge between $25 and $32, while a shot at the doctor’s office usually costs at least $48, according to Matthew Davis, a pediatrician and associate professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. But for most people with insurance, cost is not the issue—convenience is. That’s because the shots are generally paid for by insurance.

The majority of Americans still get their flu shot at the doctor’s office, but an increasing number, like the Troffs, are going to their local pharmacy instead.

In 2010, 18.4 percent of adults who were immunized received the flu vaccine at a supermarket or drugstore, just edging out workplace vaccinations for the second most popular venue, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The H1N1 epidemic in 2009, which showcased a particulary deadly strain of flu, helped propel the trend; the panic sent customers running to drugstores, which often had vaccines available after physicians’ offices had run out.

“It became clear to the government and Americans that pharmacies can provide easy access to vaccines,” says Edith Rosato, senior vice president of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.

But while more people are going to the pharmacy, the number of Americans who get the flu vaccine each year has remained fairly constant at about 40 percent of all adults.

Walgreens Pharmacists Adel Jaber and Scott Gershman stand at their registers in Springfield, Va. The pair give flu shots regularly to customers. (Francis Ying/KHN)

Drugstores and supermarket pharmacies are eager to stake out a bigger piece of that market.

Gershman spent his first seven years at the Walgreens behind the pharmacy counter, filling prescriptions and dispensing advice.

Three years ago, he entered a training program on delivering vaccines. Now, he spends a good part of his fall and winter workdays vaccinating customers. He says “being able to step out behind the counter and talk one-on-one with patients” is among the most rewarding parts of his job.

Nonetheless, it is not clear how profitable the flu shot is to pharmacies, and experts’ views differ. Revenue figures are proprietary, but Katherine Harris, a senior economist at the Rand Group who studies the vaccine market, says flu shots are not usually a big money-maker.  They often involve taking time away from other duties to educate patients and bill insurers, she explains. Other analysts believe drugstores earn profits of 30 to 50 percent on the procedures, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Vaccine campaigns are part of a broader effort to expand the role of pharmacists in health care delivery, says Rosato. “With the shortage of primary care and other professionals in the future,” she explains, pharmacists see an opportunity to work closely with doctors and nurses to advise patients with chronic illnesses, offering blood pressure and diabetes screenings and medication management. “Immunization is just one piece of it.”

Thus far, doctors have not pushed back against the efforts. Vince Hartzell, who with his father owns a pharmacy in Catasauqua, Pa., says 10 of the local physician practices actually refer their patients to his pharmacy, grateful to give up a service that is not particularly lucrative.

But some experts warn that getting the flu vaccine at a pharmacy is not right for everyone, particularly patients with chronic illnesses or those who are uninsured.

“If you’re uninsured, go shopping,” says Davis. He says the uninsured can often find a cheaper option at their local health department, where the vaccine may even be free.

Davis recommends that anyone with a chronic illness stick with their primary care doctor for the flu vaccine as part of an effort to “track vaccinations and manage effort to vaccinate high risk population in more efficient way.”

He adds that while it’s good for private retailers to join the vaccination army, he also worries that some patients might skip the annual doctor’s visit altogether.  “The main concern about pharmacy-based vaccination is that it might somehow discourage patients from otherwise following up with their doctors.”

This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.