Arul Thangavel, MD
Internal Medicine · San Francisco, CANPI 1518223197
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by grants: $75,000 of the $75,000 with a category attached, or 100.0%. Every reported general payment came from a single manufacturer, Pfizer. Among internal medicine clinicians in CA with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 1 payment — averaging $75,000 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Pfizer$75K
Across 2 payments — averaging $135,334 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.
- Pfizer$271K
What the payments were for
- Grants$75,000100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pfizer | 1 | $75,000 |
How this compares
$75,000 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 13,581 internal medicine 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.
Other internal medicine in San Francisco
- Fred CohenSan Francisco$929K
- John TeerlinkSan Francisco$819K
- Mark SmithSan Francisco$535K
- Lisa CapaldiniSan Francisco$434K
- Maria Dall'eraSan Francisco$417K
- Kenneth ColleySan Francisco$397K
- Louis CubbaSan Francisco$351K
- Daniel ButlerSan Francisco$347K
- Laurence CorashSan Francisco$336K
- Felicia StermanSan Francisco$298K
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.