Has April Stempien Otero, MD received payments from drug or device companies?

Yes. Drug and device makers reported $1,965 in general payments to April Stempien Otero, MD across 19 transactions between 2019–2025. Most Open Payments records nationally are meals worth under $20; a reported payment is not evidence of wrongdoing.

Does a payment mean April Stempien Otero, MD did something wrong?

No. Federal law requires drug and device makers to report almost every transfer of value to a physician, including a $14 sandwich at a lunch presentation. Consulting fees, research funding and royalties to device inventors are ordinary, legal parts of medicine. This site reports what was disclosed; it makes no allegation.

Where does this information about April Stempien Otero, MD come from?

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Payments come from Open Payments, published under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act. Billing and prescribing figures come from the Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners and Part D Prescriber public use files for 2024.

April Stempien Otero, MD

Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology · Seattle, WANPI 1326176330

Payments from drug & device makers

What this record shows

Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 19 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 5 manufacturers reported payments, led by Abbott at 32.9% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $659, 4.6 times the $142 reported in 2019. That places this record below the midpoint for advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology clinicians in WA, where the typical reported total is $3,028.

$1,965in general payments, 2019–2025

Across 19 payments — averaging $103.43 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.

Abbott$647
Abiomed$641
Paragonix Technologies, Inc.$321
Ancora Heart, Inc.$215
Medtronic$142

$73,830in research payments, 2019–2025

Across 26 payments — averaging $2839.60 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.

Array Biopharma Inc$74K

What the payments were for

Food & beverage$1,965100%

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
Abbott	6	$647
Abiomed	6	$641
Paragonix Technologies, Inc.	4	$321
Ancora Heart, Inc.	1	$215
Medtronic	2	$142

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.

THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$496
Impella$461
AccuCinch$215
SherpaPak$161
LIVERguard$161
LUNGguard$161
BaroGuard$161
PancreasPak$161

How this compares

$1,965 in reported general payments places this provider in the 40th percentile of 20 advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Washington.

See all advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in Washington →

Medicare billing

Part B allowed, 2024

$52,172

Medicare patients

122

Services billed

410

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
EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan	85	$124,207
EliquisApixaban	45	$51,414
Everolimus	24	$32,512
Sirolimus	31	$11,654
Tacrolimus	69	$5,156
Cyclosporine ModifiedCyclosporine, Modified	16	$2,620
Mycophenolic AcidMycophenolate Sodium	11	$2,236
Dapsone	17	$1,692
Mycophenolate Mofetil	29	$1,316
Torsemide	36	$1,203
Metoprolol Succinate	72	$1,183
Carvedilol	89	$906
Sulfamethoxazole-TrimethoprimSulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim	47	$758
Pravastatin Sodium	47	$568
Rosuvastatin Calcium	27	$530

Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.

Other advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology in Seattle

Wayne LevySeattle$275K
John MignoneSeattle$19K
Preethi PirlamarlaSeattle$14K
Salpy PamboukianSeattle$5K
James ZhangSeattle$3K
Sunu ThomasSeattle$2K
Richard ChengSeattle$759
Elina MinamiSeattle$698
Daniel FishbeinSeattle$600
Kevin ObrienSeattle$222

See the full list for Washington →

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.

Is this you, or does something look wrong? →