The U.S. Department of Justice continued its crackdown on unlawful kickback arrangements this year, with four big spine cases catching the attention of Becker's readers:

Humana has widened its coverage policies to include minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion using triangular titanium implants, which covers SI-Bone's iFuse system.

Patients at the Department of Veterans Affairs' spinal cord injury centers will be first to receive Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine from the federal agency, Stars and Stripes reports.

Alexandre Rasouli, MD, reportedly performed the first spine surgery with Centinel Spine's new angled endplates intended for the prodisc L lumbar total disc replacement system.

Researchers from New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery are using a novel method for evaluating bone density that may be able to more accurately predict which patients would have poor outcomes after spinal fusion.

Physicians at Balgrist University Hospital in Zurich recently performed the first "holographically navigated" spine surgery with Microsoft's HoloLens 2 headset, according to a Dec. 14 report by TweakTown.

Thirteen spine surgeons share their outlook on the spine field in 2021 and what success will look like for their practice.

Two South Dakota spine practices merged to form The Spine Center at Black Hills Orthopedics, according to a December announcement.

Florida Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale named neurosurgeon Guillermo Pasarin, MD, "Physician of the Quarter 2," Miami's Community Newspapers reports.

Florida Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale named neurosurgeon Jessica Okun, DO, "Physician of the Quarter 1," according to South Florida Hospital News.

Becker's Spine Review has reported on five surgeons who have joined new practices in the past month:

A Stryker device and a Vertos Medical device will see a Medicare reimbursement boost for spine procedures in 2021.

From a spine surgeon debuting a new interbody cage to surgeon moves, here are four spine surgeons making headlines over the past week:

Here are the most-read articles on Becker's Spine Review during the week of Dec. 7-12:

The International Association of Top Professionals named Robert Holtzman, MD, a neurosurgeon at Neurological Surgery PC in New Hyde Park, N.Y., Doctor of the Decade for 2021, according to a Dec. 9 news release.

Seven spine surgeons reflect on their career and the state of the field today to offer emerging surgeons best practices for establishing themselves.

Surgeons and specialists are bracing for another challenging year as further Medicare reimbursement cuts are planned, with commercial payers likely to follow suit. 

From a spinal interbody device to augmented reality-assisted spine surgery, here are three surgeons that introduced new innovations in the past month:

Nima Salari, MD, was reportedly the first spine surgeon to implant the new 12-degree hyperlordotic dualX interbody cage after it was launched by Amplify Surgical.

Neurosurgeon Abdallah Farrukh, MD, has been re-elected to the Antelope Valley Hospital board of directors, which he has served on since 2000, according to the Antelope Valley Press.