Andrew Birkeland, MD
Pediatric Otolaryngology · Palo Alto, CANPI 1700149317
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — education (53.5%), consulting fees and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 7 manufacturers reported payments, led by Intuitive Surgical at 54.3% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $4,652 and has fallen 97.0% since, to $141 in 2025. Among pediatric otolaryngology clinicians in CA 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 13 payments — averaging $646.97 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Intuitive Surgical$5K
- EMD Serono, Inc.$3K
- Johnson & Johnson$353
- Inspire Medical Systems, Inc.$125
- Sanofi$120
- Integra Lifesciences Corporation$117
- plus $44 from 1 others
Across 1 payment — averaging $170,774 each. Payments tied to a research study. These frequently flow through the physician to a hospital or research institution rather than to the physician personally.
- Merck$171K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$3,08837%
- Food & beverage$82310%
- Education$4,50054%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Intuitive Surgical | 3 | $4,564 |
| EMD Serono, Inc. | 1 | $3,088 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 5 | $353 |
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | 1 | $125 |
| Sanofi | 1 | $120 |
| Integra Lifesciences Corporation | 1 | $117 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $44 |
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.
- Da Vinci Surgical System$4,500
- INTEGRA$352
- Inspire$125
- DUPIXENT$120
- INTEGRA DERMAL REGENERATION TEMPLATE$117
- PRIMATRIX$117
How this compares
$8,411 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 66 pediatric otolaryngology providers in California.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pentoxifylline | 32 | $758 |
| Levothyroxine Sodium | 14 | $160 |
| Gabapentin | 11 | $111 |
| Chlorhexidine Gluconate | 14 | $13 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other pediatric otolaryngology in Palo Alto
- Alan ChengPalo Alto$4K
- Mai Thy TruongPalo Alto$4K
- Kay ChangPalo Alto$3K
- Alyssa SmithPalo Alto$2K
- Grace KimPalo Alto$1K
- Iram AhmadPalo Alto$792
- Jocelyn KohnPalo Alto$489
- Kara MeisterPalo Alto$464
- Dong Kyoo KangPalo Alto$316
- Douglas SidellPalo Alto$272
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.