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Medicare patients in U.S. hospitals were less likely to die when their doctors were educated outside the U.S., according to a study by researchers at Harvard University. The study, published in the journal BMJ, examined more than 1.2 million hospital admissions of Medicare patients between 2011 and 2014. It compared survival rates for patients of about 44,200 doctors who specialize in internal medicine. (Evans, 2/2)

The idea is that patients fare better when their families are more engaged in the care of their loved ones during the scary and stressful period when lives hang in the balance, said Dr. Giora Netzer, a critical care specialist at University of Maryland Medical Center. Studies show a focus on patients' families can lead in some cases to shorter hospital stays and lower costs, Netzer said...Those guidelines call for families in the ICU to have such things as unfettered access to patients and places to sleep. They also include staff dedicated to helping families understand hospital procedures, social and spiritual support, more consistent updates and inclusion in medical decision-making, and even advice on providing care after the patient is released from the hospital. (Cohn, 2/2)

In the world of cancer care, there's much to celebrate. In the last two years, the FDA has approved dozens of new treatments. The vast majority of those drugs are targeted therapies — the kind that require particularly complex medical care. At the core of that care is the oncology nurse. The job of the nurse in cancer care is now even more demanding — and in the next few years, that pressure could be compounded by a shortage of oncologists. (Mullins and Joliocoeur, 2/2)