• By Linda Barlow  |  Jun 2, 2015

    Many Insured Americans Not Getting the Healthcare They Need

    Last month, FamiliesUSA.org issued a sobering report about the disconnect between having medical insurance and receiving the healthcare one needs. The report concluded that for many Americans with non-group coverage (as opposed to having insurance from an employer or a public coverage program), deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs are prohibitively…more.

  • By Linda Barlow  |  Dec 22, 2014

    Tough Choices Await ACA Exchange Applicants

    After more than two decades of being covered under employer-sponsored medical plans, my consultant husband and I (a freelance writer) are now in the position of having to purchase our own health coverage. We both have found the online Health Insurance Marketplace fairly easy to navigate. After entering our zip…more.

  • By Jamie Elizabeth Rosen, Editor, Real World Health Care  |  May 14, 2014

    Four Ways Data is Transforming Your Health

    The increasing availability of data about health care in the U.S. is empowering patients to take charge of their care and quietly revolutionizing how patients are treated. Last month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released data on which services were provided by over 880,000 health care providers, how…more.

    Categories: General
  • By Joel L. Zive, BS, PharmD, Adjunct Clinical Faculty at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy  |  Mar 21, 2014

    Five Ways to Manage the Costs of Your Medicine

    While a main precept of the Affordable Care Act is to expand access to health care, in some cases that improved access means more patients are being treated with medications that come with a cost. As a pharmacist, I have to be an insurance sleuth, use common sense, and teach…more.

    Categories: General
  • By Jamie Elizabeth Rosen, Editor, Real World Health Care  |  Jan 31, 2014

    What’s Getting Lost in the Health Care Debate?

    Health care has never been more highly politicized than today. Last year, it was central to the third longest government shutdown in U.S. history. This week, it consumed a large chunk of President Obama’s State of the Union address. Every day, we are inundated by news of health exchange website…more.

    Categories: General
  • By Linda Barlow  |  Oct 10, 2013

    Not Your Mother’s Big Pharma

    In a September 29 article in Adweek, Joan Voight demonstrates how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is expected to create new opportunities for pharmaceutical stakeholders to play a more active, personalized role in managing patient care through interactive web-based tools. Three aspects of the ACA will change the way treatment…more.

  • By Linda Barlow  |  Aug 22, 2013

    (Medical) Home is Where the Care and Cost-Savings Are

    The word “home” has many connotations: the building in which you live, the place you come from, and even the end point of a game. Now, there is a new type of home: The Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH). PCMH is a model of primary care that is patient-centered, comprehensive, team-based, coordinated, accessible…more.

  • By Linda Barlow  |  Jul 10, 2013

    Are Shorter Doctor’s Office Wait Times Just a Phone Call Away?

    Nobody likes to wait, especially at the doctor’s office. No one knows for sure what will happen to wait times, which average from about 16 minutes to just over 24 minutes nationwide according to Vitals – as 30 million more Americans obtain health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act. But it stands to reason…more.

    Categories: Access to Care