Trump nominates new CDC director; physician burnout rates down in 2025; team-based care cuts blood pressure in high-risk populations — Morning Medical Update Weekly Recap

Trump taps Erica Schwartz, M.D., J.D., M.P.H., to lead CDC

A more traditional pick for an agency that's cycled through two acting directors since last summer.

Erica Schwartz, M.D., J.D., M.P.H. — a Brown-educated physician, former rear admiral and chief medical officer of the Coast Guard, and deputy surgeon general during Trump's first term — has been nominated to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Trump announced the nomination Thursday on Truth Social, alongside three additional appointments: Sean Slovenski as deputy director and COO, Jennifer Shuford, M.D., M.P.H., as deputy director and CMO, and Sara Brenner, M.D., M.P.H., as senior counselor for public health to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kennedy. Schwartz is being praised by former public health officials including Demetre Daskalakis, M.D., M.P.H., the former CDC immunization director who resigned after Susan Monarez, Ph.D., was fired last August. The CDC has been led by two acting directors since — first Jim O'Neill, then Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D. If confirmed, Schwartz would report to Secretary Kennedy.

Physician burnout falls for third straight year

The overall trend is moving in the right direction — but the specialty-level picture is more complicated.

The share of physicians reporting at least one burnout symptom dropped to 41.9% in 2025, down from 43.2% in 2024 and 48.2% in 2023, according to the American Medical Association (AMA)’s latest Organizational Biopsy survey of nearly 19,000 physicians across 38 states and 106 health systems. Four of five well-being indicators improved year over year. But emergency medicine, urological surgery, and hematology and oncology are all sitting near 50% burnout, with OB-GYN, radiology and family medicine all coming in around 45%. Female physicians also continue to report feeling valued at a lower rate than their male colleagues — 53.3% versus 59.6%.

Read more: Physician burnout declines overall, but gaps persist across specialties, AMA data show

Team-based care model cuts blood pressure more effectively in low-income patients

The approach, tested at 36 FQHCs in Louisiana and Mississippi, cost approximately $760 per patient.

A coordinated, team-based care strategy reduced systolic blood pressure by more than 15 mmHg in low-income patients with uncontrolled hypertension, compared with about 9 mmHg under enhanced standard care, according to a new National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The intervention, tested at 36 federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) across Louisiana and Mississippi with more than 1,270 participants, combined intensive blood pressure management, clinician feedback, health coaching, medication adherence support and home monitoring. At 18 months, nearly 48% of patients in the intervention group achieved systolic blood pressure below 130mm Hg, compared with 36% in the control group.

Researchers estimated the team-based approach cost roughly $760 per patient — far less than treating the cardiovascular conditions that poorly controlled hypertension can cause. Prior research suggests the observed blood pressure difference could translate to a 10% reduction in cardiovascular events. The authors conclude the model is scalable to other primary care settings serving similar underserved populations.