Adam Short, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery · Knoxville, TNNPI 1538505979
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — travel and lodging (30.1%), royalties or licence payments and consulting fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Vilex LLC accounts for 73.2% of it on its own, with 26 other manufacturers making up the rest. Among orthopaedic surgery clinicians in TN with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 254 payments — averaging $341.09 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Vilex LLC$63K
- Arthrex$8K
- Alpha Orthopedic Systems$5K
- Exactech, Inc.$3K
- Stryker$2K
- Smoky Mountain Surgical LLC$1K
- plus $4K from 21 others
What the payments were for
- Royalty or licence$23,75227%
- Consulting fees$19,47522%
- Grants$1,1261%
- Travel & lodging$26,04830%
- Food & beverage$12,11914%
- Education$4,1185%
General payments by program year
Who reported the general payments
Companies are grouped under their corporate parent — a single manufacturer often files under several CMS reporting entities. Research and ownership payments are counted separately and are not in this table.
| Company | Payments | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Vilex LLC | 43 | $63,447 |
| Arthrex | 58 | $8,074 |
| Alpha Orthopedic Systems | 56 | $4,922 |
| Exactech, Inc. | 13 | $3,170 |
| Stryker(2 entities) | 19 | $1,892 |
| Smoky Mountain Surgical LLC | 7 | $1,208 |
| Smith+Nephew | 13 | $606 |
| Trimed, Inc. | 1 | $450 |
| Paragon 28, Inc. | 6 | $411 |
| Medartis Inc. | 4 | $316 |
| Medshape, Inc. | 3 | $284 |
| Bioventus LLC | 6 | $264 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 3 | $232 |
| Linvatec Corporation | 2 | $228 |
| Trilliant Surgical LLC. | 1 | $152 |
| Crossroads Extremity Systems, LLC | 2 | $149 |
| Biotissue Holdings Inc. | 1 | $148 |
| Medtronic | 2 | $142 |
| Anika Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $136 |
| Novastep Inc. | 1 | $133 |
| In2bones USA, LLC | 2 | $92 |
| DJO, LLC | 3 | $79 |
| Amgen | 3 | $37 |
| Treace Medical Concepts, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Biocomposites Inc | 1 | $19 |
| Pacira Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | 1 | $15 |
| KCI USA, Inc. | 1 | $13 |
What the payments were tied to
Products named in the reported payments. Only payments of $100 or more are attributed here — the typical reported payment nationally is a meal worth about $16, and listing those product-by-product would be noise.
- HINTERMANN$24,385
- ALPHALOK Ankle Fusion - R&D$19,894
- ALPHALOK$13,416
- R&D Hallux OCD$4,000
- VANTAGE$2,872
- REDEMPTION$1,047
- INBONE$293
- ORTHOLOC 3DI CROSSCHECK$244
- APTUS$242
- BioBrace 23mm$228
- DISTAL EXTREMITIES IMPLANTS NITINOL OTHER$227
- SALVATION$174
- AUGMENT$172
- Arsenal Sinus Support Plate$152
- STAR$149
- Prokera$148
- AmnioGraft$148
- AmnioGuard$148
- VARIAX$144
- PROPHECY$141
How this compares
$86,638 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 381 orthopaedic surgery providers in Tennessee.
Medicare billing
What this is not: this is the amount Original Medicare Part B allowed for services this provider billed in 2024. It is not their income. It excludes Medicare Advantage — now more than half of all Medicare enrollment — along with Medicaid and all commercial insurance, and it is gross practice revenue before staff, rent, supplies and malpractice premiums. CMS also suppresses any figure covering ten or fewer patients, so low-volume providers appear smaller than they are.
Most prescribed under Part D
| Drug | Claims | Cost to plans & patients |
|---|---|---|
| Oxycodone Hcl | 77 | $330 |
| Vitamin D2Ergocalciferol (Vitamin D2) | 21 | $203 |
| Sulfamethoxazole-TrimethoprimSulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim | 38 | $182 |
| Meloxicam | 32 | $165 |
| Gabapentin | 26 | $144 |
| Methylprednisolone | 15 | $86 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 15 | $64 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 13 | $32 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other orthopaedic surgery in Knoxville
- Paul BradyKnoxville$20M
- Edwin SpencerKnoxville$2.5M
- Paul NaylorKnoxville$184K
- George HollowayKnoxville$124K
- Harold CatesKnoxville$106K
- Brian EdkinKnoxville$60K
- Austin DavidsonKnoxville$56K
- Benjamin WeisenthalKnoxville$52K
- Jesse DotyChattanooga$2.3M
- Thomas ThrockmortonGermantown$1.7M
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Billing: Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners, data year 2024. Original Medicare Part B only.
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.