Read AMA Morning Rounds®’ most popular stories in medicine and public health from the week of April 7, 2025–April 11, 2025.
Texas, New Mexico measles cases continue to rise
Reuters (4/4, Singh) reported that the Texas Department of State Health Services “on Friday reported 59 new measles cases in three days, bringing the total to 481 in the state, while New Mexico’s health department reported 54 infections, adding six, as the disease spreads across the country.” As of Thursday, the CDC “reported a weekly nationwide increase of 124 measles cases, bringing the total to 607. In 2024, the nationwide count stood at 285. The CDC said that 97% of nationwide cases are either unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status.”
Physical activity linked to reduced cancer risk, study finds
The Washington Post (4/7, McMahan) reports a study found that “those who exercised the most had a 26% lower cancer risk than those who exercised the least in an analysis of biomedical data.” The study analyzed data from U.K. Biobank, a longitudinal study that “included about 85,000 participants with a median age of 63 years.” Participants used an accelerometer “to measure sedentary time, step count and activity intensity, and to quantify daily levels of activity and energy expenditure.” The measures were then “compared with the initial diagnosis of 13 cancers associated with low physical activity.” Researchers observed “an inverse relationship between overall daily physical activity and cancer risk, indicating that even modest increases in activity levels were sufficient to significantly reduce the risk of the 13 cancers.” The study was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Tuberculosis cases can go undetected in prisons, increasing likelihood of community spread
HealthDay (4/8, Thompson) reports a study found that most modern-day tuberculosis cases “happen in prisons, where inmates in close quarters are more likely to pass the disease between them.” But during the COVID-19 pandemic, “TB diagnoses fell dramatically in prisons—not because there weren’t new cases, but because officials weren’t detecting them, researchers argue.” Researchers said, “When countries are unable to detect tuberculosis in high-risk populations—such as people who are incarcerated—it increases the risk of transmission, both within prisons and to the broader community, when people are released from prison.” The study was published in The Lancet Public Health.
Physician burnout levels decreasing but still remain high, study finds
Medical Economics (4/9, Payerchin) reports a study suggests that “workplace burnout is getting better over time for American physicians, but they still experience it more than other workers.” Researchers examined burnout levels in 2023 and “found 45.2% of all doctors reported at least one symptom of workplace burnout. That was lower than the 62.8% rate of 2021, and roughly comparable to rates found in similar surveys for 2020, 2017, 2014 and 2011.” They also observed that, “compared with 2021, mean scores for emotional exhaustion dropped 20.3% and mean scores for depersonalization dropped 29.6%.” Overall, 42.2% of physicians said they “were satisfied with their work-life integration,” up from 30.3% in 2021 but down from 48.5% in 2011. The study was published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Editor's note: Read a statement on the burnout rate among physicians from AMA President Bruce A. Scott, MD.
Tying physician reimbursement to inflation is one way to stabilize American health care system, AMA says
Medical Economics (4/10, Payerchin) reports, “Health care is in crisis, but tying physician reimbursement to inflation is one way to stabilize the American health care system, according to the American Medical Association (AMA).” On Thursday, “the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission voted unanimously to recommend Congress replace current law updates to the physician fee schedule with an annual change based on the Medicare Economic Index, such as MEI minus 1%.” Medical Economics adds, “That is ‘a timely recommendation as lawmakers wrestle with how to handle yet another cut in physician pay,’ according to AMA.” AMA President Bruce A. Scott, MD, “issued a statement of support similar to previous ones because the issue has been under discussion for months. In fact, Scott noted MedPAC has suggested the same to Congress at least three consecutive years.”
Editor's note: Medicare physician pay has declined 33% over the last 20 years. These declines are unsustainable and threaten patients’ access to physicians. How the AMA is leading the charge on reform.
AMA Morning Rounds news coverage is developed in affiliation with Bulletin Healthcare LLC. Subscribe to Morning Rounds Daily.
Table of Contents
- Texas, New Mexico measles cases continue to rise
- Physical activity linked to reduced cancer risk, study finds
- Tuberculosis cases can go undetected in prisons, increasing likelihood of community spread
- Physician burnout levels decreasing but still remain high, study finds
- Tying physician reimbursement to inflation is one way to stabilize American health care system, AMA says
