In this solo episode of Health Literacy IRL, host Megan Freeland, PharmD explores why healthcare marketing, health communications, health literacy, and patient experience teams need to stop operating in silos — and start building cohesively around the patient journey.

She also elaborates on an uncomfortable and inconvenient truth: that providing more information isn't always the solution. And the system — not the patient — is largely to blame.

In this episode:

• Why siloed teams fall short of patients' needs
• A mouth-watering analogy that reframes information overload
• What patients face during high-stakes medical decision-making
• The largely untapped opportunity for organizations to map health information to the patient journey

Connect with Megan on LinkedIn.

We talk about:

• What DPC looks like day-to-day (and why “if you’ve seen one DPC practice, you’ve seen one DPC practice”)
• How time becomes a health literacy intervention (think: hour-long visits, fewer rushed decisions)
• How transparent pricing and fewer “insurance hoops” can help patients become better healthcare consumers
• Why access (texts/calls, same-day help) reduces “bargaining with your health”
• What equitable DPC can look like—including creative approaches like scholarship care and nonprofit support
• Real stories of breakthrough moments for patients

If you’ve been curious about DPC — or spending time thinking about how to improve health outcomes or health literacy through innovation — you'll certainly want to tune in!

Connect with Us

Host – Megan Freeland, PharmD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-n-freeland/

Guest – Byron Jasper, MD, MPH

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/byron-jasper-03bt04/

Byja Clinic on FB: https://www.facebook.com/byjaclinic/

Byja Clinic on IG: https://www.instagram.com/byjaclinic/

In this episode of Health Literacy IRL, I sit down with Ellen Jones, PharmD, a pharmacist and faculty member who practices inside a DPC clinic in Arkansas. We dig into how the direct primary care model — and pharmacist-led services — can transform health literacy, medication management, and the patient experience.

In this episode, we cover:

• What direct primary care (DPC) is and how it differs from concierge medicine
• How Ellen built a role as a pharmacist in a DPC clinic while serving as pharmacy faculty
• The day-to-day responsibilities of a DPC pharmacist
• Health literacy-friendly characteristics of the the DPC model (e.g., longer visits, unlimited follow-ups, text access)
• Why time, emotions, and readiness to learn are essential for effective patient education
• The impact of administrative “bloat” on traditional primary care — and what changes when you step outside that system
• Creative ways pharmacists and DPC clinicians can partner, even when budgets are tight

Connect with Us

Host – Megan Freeland, PharmD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-n-freeland/

Guest – Ellen Jones, PharmD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellenjonespharmd/

If this episode helped you understand direct primary care, pharmacist roles in primary care, or health literacy better, hit Subscribe, give the video a thumbs up, and share it with a pharmacist, clinician, or health leader who needs to hear this.

In part 1, we discussed the first step: Identify. Listen to part 2 for the remaining 5 steps.

Know someone who'd be an excellent guest? Complete the guest recommendation form: https://forms.gle/T67gHNChCiLU5x3p7

Oftentimes, organizational health literacy initiatives are hiding in plain sight, and in this episode, we'll discuss common departments and verticals where they're often found. With greater awareness, we can more effectively coordinate efforts, avoid unnecessary duplication of efforts, and ultimately, make more substantial headway with health literacy programs and initiatives.

Know someone who'd be an excellent guest? Complete the guest recommendation form: https://forms.gle/T67gHNChCiLU5x3p7

In this episode, I expand on the difference between personal health literacy and organizational health literacy. Then we explore examples of organizational health literacy for:

• hospitals/health systems
• biopharma
• payors
• direct patient care

Know someone who'd be an excellent guest? Complete the guest recommendation form.

Welcome to the Health Literacy IRL podcast, where we'll explore how health institutions are assuming responsibility for the advancement of health literacy.