The PCORnet^® Bariatric Study, which is using data from PCORnet, The National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, to study outcomes among patients who undergo common weight-loss surgeries, has published another paper in a prominent medical journal. This time, five-year outcomes of patients who underwent either gastric bypass or adjustable banding were measured. As the research team published in JAMA Surgery, gastric bypass patients were significantly more likely than gastric sleeve patients to end up back in the hospital in the years following surgery.

This PCORI-funded project compared the effectiveness of team-based outpatient palliative care to current standards of care for people living with Parkinson’s disease. The palliative care intervention included quarterly visits with a team that included a neurologist, social worker, chaplain, and nurse who used checklists to assess and manage palliative care. The project team reported in JAMA Neurology that, compared to usual care that used a neurologist and primary care practitioner, patients receiving palliative care at six months had improvements in their quality of life, symptom control, grief, and advance care planning. Caregivers had improved anxiety and spiritual well-being at six months and reduced caregiving burden at 12 months. A related editorial calls palliative care “the next frontier” in treating Parkinson’s disease.