Azim Karim, MD
General Practice · Houston, TXNPI 1407119076
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 5 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 80.3% of it on its own, with 1 other manufacturer making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $58 and has fallen 58.7% since, to $24 in 2022. That places this record below the midpoint for general practice clinicians in TX, where the typical reported total is $213.
Across 5 payments — averaging $20.57 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Johnson & Johnson$83
- Bausch Health US, LLC$20
Across 2 payments — averaging $48,813 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.
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$98K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$103100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & Johnson | 4 | $83 |
| Bausch Health US, LLC | 1 | $20 |
How this compares
$103 in reported general payments places this provider in the 30th percentile of 8,074 general practice providers in Texas.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 1,019 | $25,949 |
| Lidocaine | 86 | $10,541 |
| Fentanyl | 60 | $8,705 |
| Pregabalin | 296 | $6,906 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 287 | $6,499 |
| MovantikNaloxegol Oxalate | 13 | $5,425 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 159 | $4,917 |
| Gabapentin | 424 | $4,738 |
| Buprenorphine-NaloxoneBuprenorphine Hcl/Naloxone Hcl | 12 | $3,098 |
| Tizanidine Hcl | 229 | $2,985 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 212 | $2,978 |
| Diclofenac Sodium | 32 | $2,490 |
| Amitriptyline Hcl | 102 | $1,734 |
| Morphine Sulfate ErMorphine Sulfate | 31 | $1,289 |
| Methadone Hcl | 40 | $1,206 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other general practice in Houston
- Kathleen Szelei-StevensHouston$253K
- Zsolt GaramiHouston$111K
- Scott ColemanHouston$87K
- Rispba McCray-GarrisonHouston$70K
- Piya GandhiHouston$36K
- Terri AlaniHouston$30K
- Demetris GreenHouston$26K
- Steven XueHouston$19K
- Carol DupuisHouston$16K
- Rosita HamidiHouston$16K
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.