--- title: 'Morning Brief — Wednesday, August 26, 2026' type: 'episode' url: 'https://doc.social/episodes/morning-brief-2026-08-26' show: 'doc social Morning Brief' show_url: 'https://doc.social/podcasts/morning-brief' published: '2026-08-26' audio: 'https://media.doc.social/podcasts/morning-brief/2026-08-26.mp3' --- # Morning Brief — Wednesday, August 26, 2026 OIG: Medicare improperly paid $15.2M for SI joint injections, with 72% of sampled sessions non-compliant · Globus Medical Q2 2026: $789.6M net sales, US spine +7%, international spine +14% · OrthoPediatrics buys a UK spinal device manufacturer, expanding its scoliosis line · Dr. Vin Dasa on the rep-less debate: the real question is coverage, and the technology exists ## Summary 4 stories this morning, for surgeons and the people who support them. - **OIG: Medicare improperly paid $15.2M for SI joint injections, with 72% of sampled sessions non-compliant** — Audit covering Oct 2023–Sep 2024 found 72% of sampled sacroiliac joint injection sessions failed one or more Medicare requirements; 25% were billed as therapeutic when the documentation supported diagnostic. Distinct from the separate facet-joint audit, which put improper payments near $29.6M. [Source](https://oig.hhs.gov/newsroom/whats-new/) - **Globus Medical Q2 2026: $789.6M net sales, US spine +7%, international spine +14%** — Quarterly net sales up 5.9% year over year, with international outgrowing the US book by two to one. [Source](https://www.globusmedical.com/) - **OrthoPediatrics buys a UK spinal device manufacturer, expanding its scoliosis line** — OrthoPediatrics EU Limited acquired all share capital of a UK maker of devices for spinal disorders in July 2026, adding to the scoliosis portfolio and enlarging its European footprint. [Source](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001425450/000142545026000070/kids-20260630.htm) - **Dr. Vin Dasa on the rep-less debate: the real question is coverage, and the technology exists** — Posting on LinkedIn, Dasa notes he helped build case-coverage and inventory automation 5–10 years ago inside a large health system, and that the market demand wasn't there. His framing: not whether reps disappear, but whether one rep can cover three to five rooms instead of one. [Source](https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinod-dasa-md/recent-activity/all/) ### Contribute to the Brief Faculty can send the show a note — a reaction to a paper, a correction, a read on a rule change — either written, which we shape for broadcast and read in the show's voice, or as a voice note under three minutes, which airs in your own voice. Send one from [Studio](https://next.doc.social/studio). Not on doc social yet? [Contribute a lecture or join the network](https://next.doc.social/contribute) — doc social is a clinical education platform for clinicians, and this show is one part of it. _Narration is synthesized. Reporting and editorial judgement are ours, and every story above links to its source._