Quality of Virtual versus In-Person Outpatient Palliative Care: Disparities by Language and Race.

Context: Virtual visits have increased in outpatient, clinic-based palliative care (OPC). The association between virtual visits and OPC outcomes is largely unknown.

Objectives: (1) Examine the association between visit type (virtual vs.

Implementation of the California End of Life Option Act at UCSF: Examining the Utility of the Mandatory Mental Health Assessment in Medical Aid in Dying.

Background: The End of Life Option Act (EOLOA) legalized medical aid in dying (MAID) in California in 2015. University of California, San Francisco Health initially implemented a policy requiring a mandatory mental health assessment of all patients seeking MAID, though this was not required by the EOLOA. State-level statistics on EOLOA are available, but less is known about outcomes at individual institutions and how institutional policy affects outcomes for patients seeking MAID.

A Validated Electronic Medical Record-Based Algorithm to Identify Hospitalized Patients with Serious Illness.

Population-based methods to identify patients with serious illness are necessary to provide equitable and efficient access to palliative care services. Create a validated algorithm embedded in the electronic medical record (EMR) to identify hospitalized patients with serious illness. An initial algorithm, developed from literature review and clinical experience, was twice adjusted based on gaps identified from chart review.

Sex Differences in Patient-rated Outcomes After Lumbar Spinal Fusion for Degenerative Disease: A Multicenter Cohort Study.

Study Design: Heterogeneous data collection via a mix of prospective, retrospective, and ambispective methods.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of biological sex on patient-reported outcomes after spinal fusion surgery for lumbar degenerative disease.

Summary Of Background Data: Current literature suggests sex differences regarding clinical outcome after spine surgery may exist.

Adapting Complicated Grief Therapy for Use With People With Intellectual Disabilities: An Action Research Study.

Background: There is established evidence of complicated grief among people with an intellectual disability. This paper describes the process of adapting complicated grief therapy (CGT) for this population.

Method: Action research documented the adaptation of CGT.