Barry Effron, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Cleveland, OHNPI 1376569640
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 99.9% of the total across 232 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 26 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 19.6% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $1,718 and has fallen 82.9% since, to $295 in 2025.
Across 232 payments — averaging $19.01 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Johnson & Johnson$866
- AstraZeneca$520
- Amgen$478
- Pfizer$429
- Novartis$404
- Abbott$209
- plus $2K from 20 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$4,405100%
- Education$60%
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 | 49 | $866 |
| AstraZeneca | 22 | $520 |
| Amgen | 26 | $478 |
| Pfizer | 33 | $429 |
| Novartis | 21 | $404 |
| Abbott | 4 | $209 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 11 | $169 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 8 | $149 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 9 | $143 |
| Novo Nordisk | 9 | $142 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 9 | $137 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $123 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 5 | $109 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 5 | $101 |
| Boston Scientific | 4 | $93 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 2 | $52 |
| Bayer | 3 | $51 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $44 |
| Irhythm Technologies, Inc. | 1 | $37 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 2 | $35 |
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 1 | $31 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 1 | $20 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $19 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 1 | $12 |
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.
- FARXIGA$126
- XARELTO$125
- THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$125
- SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA$123
- VYNDAQEL$112
- Repatha$103
How this compares
$4,411 in reported general payments places this provider in the 70th percentile of 827 cardiovascular disease providers in Ohio.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 509 | $561,875 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 268 | $328,316 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 262 | $263,066 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 271 | $260,123 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 193 | $236,631 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 160 | $202,374 |
| Praluent PenAlirocumab | 51 | $58,441 |
| VascepaIcosapent Ethyl | 71 | $40,910 |
| MultaqDronedarone Hcl | 15 | $32,722 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 23 | $25,961 |
| Icosapent Ethyl | 42 | $13,751 |
| Ezetimibe | 412 | $12,516 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 597 | $8,412 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 585 | $7,772 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 788 | $7,163 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $429 | $561,875509 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $404 | $328,316268 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $520 | $263,066262 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $149 | $260,123271 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $866 | $236,631193 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCMultaq | $101 | $32,72215 claims |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc.Livalo | $18 | $3,54311 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 70th percentile of 827 cardiovascular disease providers in Ohio.
Other cardiovascular disease in Cleveland
- Guilherme AttizzaniCleveland$1.3M
- Abraham LincoffCleveland$369K
- Oussama WazniCleveland$367K
- Ian NeelandCleveland$329K
- Mazen HannaCleveland$208K
- Brian HoitCleveland$207K
- Steven NissenCleveland$149K
- Daniel CantillonCleveland$140K
- Serge HarbCleveland$134K
- Wael JaberCleveland$124K
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.