Barton Brezina, MD
Nephrology · Augusta, GANPI 1205824877
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $30,750 of the $47,285 with a category attached, or 65.0%. Amgen accounts for 84.2% of it on its own, with 26 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $38,326 and has fallen 96.8% since, to $1,216 in 2025. Among nephrology clinicians in GA 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 345 payments — averaging $137.06 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Amgen$40K
- Vifor Pharma, Inc.$2K
- Eli Lilly$1K
- AstraZeneca$754
- Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc.$408
- Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc.$365
- plus $3K from 21 others
Across 66 payments — averaging $22,694 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.
- GSK$1M
- Eli Lilly$325K
- Amgen$145K
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$30,75065%
- Travel & lodging$9,73321%
- Food & beverage$6,50414%
- Education$2981%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amgen(2 entities) | 63 | $39,791 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 33 | $1,948 |
| Eli Lilly | 12 | $1,065 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 45 | $754 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 18 | $408 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 16 | $365 |
| Bayer | 20 | $346 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 14 | $306 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 14 | $280 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 16 | $269 |
| GSK | 15 | $242 |
| Novartis | 11 | $234 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 12 | $229 |
| Akebia Therapeutics Inc | 9 | $215 |
| Novo Nordisk | 7 | $178 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 9 | $160 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 12 | $125 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 4 | $83 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 4 | $75 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 3 | $56 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 2 | $37 |
| Cormedix Inc. | 1 | $29 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $27 |
| Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 1 | $15 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises 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.
How this compares
$47,285 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 388 nephrology providers in Georgia.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 124 | $126,186 |
| VeltassaPatiromer Calcium Sorbitex | 33 | $66,587 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 53 | $53,296 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 48 | $50,845 |
| KerendiaFinerenone | 37 | $37,684 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 56 | $15,458 |
| EliquisApixaban | 13 | $12,411 |
| LokelmaSodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate | 14 | $11,936 |
| Cinacalcet Hcl | 29 | $8,332 |
| ProsolParenteral Amino Acid 20% No.1 | 45 | $7,041 |
| ClinolipidFat Emulsion/Olive/Soy/Phospho | 15 | $5,208 |
| Nifedipine ErNifedipine | 100 | $4,008 |
| Potassium Citrate ErPotassium Citrate | 23 | $3,553 |
| Calcitriol | 131 | $3,172 |
| Hydralazine Hcl | 116 | $2,992 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Lokelma | $754 | $138,123138 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $178 | $53,29653 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $280 | $50,84548 claims |
| BayerKerendia | $346 | $37,68437 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 95th percentile of 388 nephrology providers in Georgia.
Other nephrology in Augusta
- Don WilliamsonAugusta$104K
- Matthew DiamondAugusta$14K
- Laura MulloyAugusta$11K
- Syed BabarAugusta$8K
- Muralidharan JagadeesanAugusta$8K
- Shameem BeighAugusta$7K
- Harold HubertAugusta$7K
- Devesh PatelAugusta$6K
- Sagar PanseMacon$542K
- Sheldon ShoreAtlanta$474K
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.