--- title: 'Morning Brief — Thursday, September 17, 2026' type: 'episode' url: 'https://doc.social/episodes/morning-brief-2026-09-17' show: 'doc social Morning Brief' show_url: 'https://doc.social/podcasts/morning-brief' published: '2026-09-17' audio: 'https://media.doc.social/podcasts/morning-brief/2026-09-17.mp3' --- # Morning Brief — Thursday, September 17, 2026 CMS expands the ACCESS digital chronic-care model: four new tracks from spring 2027 and musculoskeletal pain support past the first 12 months · Federal Circuit affirms Globus Medical's noninfringement win over three Moskowitz Family spinal implant patents in a precedential opinion · Synergy Spine presents two-year ALIGN-1L IDE data at SMISS: 87.1% composite clinical success for the one-level… ## Summary 3 stories this morning, for surgeons and the people who support them. - **CMS expands the ACCESS digital chronic-care model: four new tracks from spring 2027 and musculoskeletal pain support past the first 12 months** — CMS announced September 15 that the ACCESS (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions) model, a voluntary ten-year Original Medicare model that began in July 2026 with cardiometabolic, musculoskeletal and behavioral health tracks, will add heart failure, COPD, substance use disorder and tobacco/nicotine cessation tracks starting spring 2027 (April 1, 2027 per the model page), and will extend support for chronic musculoskeletal pain for certain specified conditions beyond the initial 12-month care period. Payments are outcomes-based rather than per service; about 160 organizations are participating; Medicare Advantage enrollees are excluded; current participants do not need to reapply. The model page describes a co-management payment referring clinicians can bill for documented review of patient updates and coordination. Specific MSK continuation payment amounts were not in the announcement. Corroborated by MedTech Dive, September 16: https://www.medtechdive.com/news/cms-expands-access-pilot-to-boost-use-of-digital-health-tech/830542/ ; model page: https://www.cms.gov/priorities/innovation/innovation-models/access [Source](https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cms-adds-medicare-options-help-people-manage-substance-use-disorder-heart-failure-other-common) - **Federal Circuit affirms Globus Medical's noninfringement win over three Moskowitz Family spinal implant patents in a precedential opinion** — In Moskowitz Family LLC v. Globus Medical, No. 24-1696, decided September 11, 2026 (precedential; Prost, Schall, Stoll), the Federal Circuit affirmed the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on all counts in a suit filed November 2019. The district court's summary judgment of noninfringement on U.S. Patents 8,353,913 (tool for inserting a 'universal' intervertebral bone fusion spacer) and 9,889,022 (a 'universal' combination screw guide and fixation apparatus) stands: the panel held the preambles limiting and upheld construing 'universal' as a spacer designed for insertion in any region of the spine by any surgical approach. A jury verdict of no infringement on claim 1 of U.S. Patent 10,478,319 (expandable spinal implant) was also affirmed, along with denial of post-trial relief. Coverage: IPWatchdog, September 13 (https://ipwatchdog.com/2026/09/13/cafc-affirms-noninfringement-rulings-on-spinal-implant-patents/); Bloomberg Law (https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/globus-medical-maintains-spinal-surgery-patent-win-on-appeal); SPINEMarketGroup, September 15 (https://thespinemarketgroup.com/federal-circuit-backs-globus-medical-in-spinal-implant-patent-fight/). [Source](https://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/opinions-orders/24-1696.OPINION.9-11-2026_2754043.pdf) - **Synergy Spine presents two-year ALIGN-1L IDE data at SMISS: 87.1% composite clinical success for the one-level Synergy Disc versus 56.6% for matched ACDF controls** — Announced September 16 and presented at the SMISS Annual Forum by Amir Vokshoor, MD: the U.S. IDE ALIGN-1L trial enrolled 175 Synergy Disc patients at 20 sites against 192 propensity-score-matched ACDF controls, single level C3-C7. At 24 months composite clinical success was 87.1% vs 56.6% (p<0.0001); NDI responder rate 92% vs 75%; mean neck pain VAS 15.6 vs 30.2; worst arm pain 15.0 vs 32.2; satisfaction 92.3% vs 61.6%; global C2-C7 lordosis up 27% and mean disc angle up 8.6 degrees in the disc arm. The device has a built-in 6-degree lordotic core and received FDA PMA for one-level C3-C7 on February 27, 2026 (https://www.massdevice.com/synergy-spine-fda-nod-cervical-disc/); a two-level IDE is fully enrolled with two-year follow-up due later this year. These are company-reported podium results, not a peer-reviewed paper, and the control arm is propensity matched rather than randomized. Also reported by ODT: https://www.odtmag.com/breaking-news/synergy-disc-outperforms-acdf-at-two-years-align-1l-data-shows/ [Source](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/synergy-spine-solutions-highlights-superior-two-year-clinical-outcomes-for-fda-approved-synergy-disc-at-society-for-minimally-invasive-spine-surgery-302880037.html) ### 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._