Erskine NA, et al. - Researchers investigated the impact of barriers to healthcare access on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). They performed a questionnaire survey in a large cohort of ACS survivors from six medical centers in Massachusetts and Georgia and found that there were greater risks of decline in generic physical and mental HRQOL among patients with two or more access barriers vs those without any healthcare barriers. They also observed a modest link between not having a usual source of care and experiencing a decline in disease-specific HRQOL. Overall, in those who were discharged from hospital post-ACS, clinically meaningful declines in HRQOL may be observed in relation to financial and other barriers to healthcare access.