Alan Buffenstein, MD
Psychiatry · Honolulu, HINPI 1639278104
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 96.8% of the total across 84 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 13 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 21.7% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $1,161 and has fallen 51.1% since, to $567 in 2025. Among psychiatry clinicians in HI 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 84 payments — averaging $39.97 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Alkermes, Inc.$729
- Johnson & Johnson$604
- AbbVie$572
- Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.$390
- AstraZeneca$354
- Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$153
- plus $556 from 7 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$3,25197%
- Education$1073%
Most of this is food and beverage — typically meals provided during product presentations at a clinic or hospital. Nationally that is the single largest category of reported payments by count.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Alkermes, Inc. | 34 | $729 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 21 | $604 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 10 | $572 |
| Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. | 6 | $390 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 3 | $354 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $153 |
| Amgen | 1 | $125 |
| SK Life Science, Inc. | 1 | $125 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | 2 | $122 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 1 | $117 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. | 1 | $31 |
| Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc | 1 | $19 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
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.
- INGREZZA$317
- BOTOX$278
- ULTOMIRIS$250
- UBRELVY$129
- INVEGA SUSTENNA$128
- NURTEC ODT$125
- UPLIZNA$125
- XCOPRI$125
- COBENFY$117
- WAINUA$104
How this compares
$3,358 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 183 psychiatry providers in Hawaii.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Invega SustennaPaliperidone Palmitate | 70 | $199,849 |
| AustedoDeutetrabenazine | 23 | $121,395 |
| VraylarCariprazine Hcl | 69 | $93,768 |
| AristadaAripiprazole Lauroxil | 16 | $49,366 |
| Abilify MaintenaAripiprazole | 22 | $48,961 |
| PerserisRisperidone | 11 | $26,948 |
| CaplytaLumateperone Tosylate | 17 | $26,160 |
| Risperdal ConstaRisperidone Microspheres | 27 | $11,782 |
| Clozapine | 137 | $7,494 |
| Lurasidone Hcl | 27 | $4,813 |
| Quetiapine Fumarate | 135 | $4,747 |
| Olanzapine | 130 | $4,284 |
| Haloperidol | 88 | $4,129 |
| Paliperidone ErPaliperidone | 33 | $3,431 |
| Aripiprazole | 83 | $3,269 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Companies that both paid and supply prescribed drugs
These companies both reported payments to this provider and make drugs the provider prescribed under Medicare Part D in 2024. For most specialties this overlap is expected — a cardiologist who is paid by a cardiology drugmaker also treats heart disease. It is shown so the reader can see it, not because it implies anything on its own.
| Company | Paid to this provider | Part D cost of their drugs |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & JohnsonInvega Sustenna, Risperdal Consta | $604 | $211,63197 claims |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.Austedo | $122 | $121,39523 claims |
| AbbVieVraylar | $572 | $93,76869 claims |
| Alkermes, Inc.Aristada | $729 | $49,36616 claims |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.Abilify Maintena | $16 | $48,96122 claims |
Reading this fairly. The Part D column is what drug plans and patients paid pharmacies — this provider received none of it, and it reflects how many patients they treat and what those drugs cost. Against peers, this provider's reported payments sit in the 90th percentile of 183 psychiatry providers in Hawaii.
Other psychiatry in Honolulu
- Denis Mee-LeeHonolulu$526K
- David SteinHonolulu$186K
- Gregory YuenHonolulu$6K
- Raymond DavidsonHonolulu$6K
- Helen Blaisdell-BrennanHonolulu$6K
- Glorifin BelmonteHonolulu$5K
- Brett LuHonolulu$5K
- Donna McBrien SliwowskiHonolulu$4K
- Nancy LuckieHonolulu$3K
- Angela KingHonolulu$3K
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.