Literature Review

The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm. ~Aldous Huxley

Why reflexivity matters in the literature of suffering, death, and dying in eating disordersJournal of Eating Disorders; by Scout Silverstein; 10/25Current debates on medical aid in dying and treatment futility in longstanding eating disorders emphasize diagnostic frameworks, ethical principles, and legal statutes. What remains underexamined is how an author's own experiences with suffering, death, and dying shape their perspective and conclusions. I argue that every manuscript on end-of-life care, decision-making capacity, or futility in eating disorders should include a reflexivity statement detailing the author's relationship to mortality. By mandating reflexivity disclosures alongside ethics and funding statements, journals can enhance transparency and allow readers to contextualize empirical claims and ethical positions. I propose a template for a reflexivity paragraph in which authors succinctly state their clinical or research focus, experiences with suffering, and forces that shape their views on suffering, futility, and dying.

Utilization of the No One Dies Alone Program to support dying patientsJournal of Pain & Symptom Management; by Austin Chen, Ketki Sathe, Yixuan C Zhang, Lyndia C Brumback, Addy L Elketami, Jamie T Nomitch, Timothy J Shipe, Cynthia M Thelen, Katherine G Hicks, Ann L Jennerich; 11/25We conducted a retrospective cohort study of hospitalized patients enrolled in the NODA [No One Dies Alone] program at Harborview Medical Center (HMC), a level I trauma center in Seattle, WA. The No One Dies Alone ... program has utilized trained volunteers to provide support to dying patients for over 20 years.The NODA program was utilized for patients with and without family support. Some patients were unable to benefit from the program due to timing of referral relative to death, highlighting the importance of early consultation to maximize program benefits.

GUIDE and beyond: Strategies for comprehensive dementia care integrationJournal of the American Geriatrics Society; by Kristin Lees Haggerty, David B Reuben, Rebecca Stoeckle, David Bass, Malaz Boustani, Carolyn Clevenger, Ian Kremer, David R Lee, Madelyn Johnson, Morgan J Minyo, Katherine L Possin, Quincy M Samus, Lynn Spragens, Lee A Jennings, Gary Epstein-Lubow; 10/25The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model represents a landmark opportunity to improve outcomes for persons with dementia and their caregivers and scale comprehensive dementia care through a structured service delivery and alternative payment approach.  Drawing from the experiences of six previously tested programs ... we describe a four-step approach to enable successful adoption and implementation: identifying key leaders and partners, preparing a tailored value proposition, initiating program start-up, and ensuring sustainable implementation. We highlight practical tools and resources to address operational challenges, including electronic health record integration, reimbursement strategies, and staff training. By focusing on evidence-based models, health systems and other providers can accelerate implementation, reduce costly emergency and institutional care, and deliver high-quality, person-centered support. This approach can help to empower GUIDE participants and others to build effective, durable, scalable comprehensive dementia care systems, ultimately advancing the goal of establishing such care as a permanent Medicare benefit.

Hospice, palliative care, and care experiences among Medicare beneficiaries with cancerJournal of Geriatric Oncology; by Lisa M Lines, Miku Fujita, Kim N Danforth, Daniel H Barch, Michael T Halpern, Michelle A Mollica, David T Eton, Ashley Wilder Smith; 11/25Among 37,025 Medicare beneficiaries with cancer, 11.1 % received hospice (with or without PC) and 7.4 % received PC only. Nearly 30 % of the sample died within five years of diagnosis; fewer than one-third of decedents received hospice. Factors associated with receiving hospice included increasing age, non-Hispanic ethnicity, American Indian/Alaska Native and multiracial identities, living in higher-income neighborhoods, survey-completion proxy assistance, fair/poor general health, advanced stage at diagnosis, and more illness burden. Independent predictors of PC encounters included age 75-79, female identification, no dual enrollment, no proxy assistance, and more illness burden. Differences in care experience associated with hospice or PC use were shown for two care experience measures: doctor communication scores and doctor rating scores were higher among beneficiaries who received neither hospice nor PC relative to beneficiaries who received hospice.

Saturday newsletters focus on headlines and research - enjoy!

Best Buy takes $192M hit from healthcare arm Becker's Health IT; by Giles Bruce; 11/26/25 Best Buy took a $192 million accounting loss after ending its hospital-at-home partnerships with health systems. The tech retailer recorded the pretax, noncash asset impairments related to Best Buy Health in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, according to a Nov. 25 earnings report. Best Buy exited the hospital-at-home space earlier this year, ...

Social Media Watch 12/5/25

December is like Friday of the months. 

Approaching end-of-life discussions with hospital patients Medscape; by Amanda Loudin; 12/2/25 ... Around 35% of Americans die in the hospital, which makes it particularly important that hospitalists are equipped to have end-of-life discussions with patients and their families. Yet many doctors come poorly prepared for these moments, leaving them uncomfortable when the conversations are necessary. “Most doctors receive training in how to deliver bad news surrounding a diagnosis, but that’s about it,” said Wyatt. “Doctors like cures and staving off death.” ... The issue is often compounded by the fact that patients and their families haven’t had these conversations, either, ...

Nurse executive graduate brings life to hospice care  Augusta University - JAGWire, Augusta, GA; by Nina Siso; 12/2/25 When someone says the word “hospice,” words like “illness” or “dying” might come to mind. But for Ashley Perkins, it’s more than that. “We bring life to the rest of the time you have. It’s about what’s important to you, and how we can help you with that,” Perkins said. Perkins is graduating from the Doctor of Nursing Practice Nurse Executive program through Augusta University’s College of Nursing. The program is designed exclusively for chief nursing officers, vice presidents of nursing and other nursing leaders aspiring to pursue executive-level nursing positions. Already a vice president of hospice services at a not-for-profit organization, Perkins pursued an advanced degree to be able to contribute more.