Brian Bethea, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Delray Beach, FLNPI 1417002908
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (51.5%), other and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 12 manufacturers reported payments, led by Abbott at 56.9% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $67,815 and has fallen 99.2% since, to $509 in 2025. Among thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in FL 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 393 payments — averaging $838.57 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abbott$188K
- Angiodynamics, Inc.$89K
- Edwards Lifesciences$31K
- Livanova USA, Inc.$12K
- Medtronic$6K
- Boston Scientific$2K
- plus $2K from 6 others
Across 221 payments — averaging $6889.87 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.
- Abbott$1.4M
- Medtronic$92K
- Boston Scientific$2K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$169,70051%
- Speaking & faculty fees$15,3505%
- Travel & lodging$42,09713%
- Food & beverage$13,2434%
- Other$89,16727%
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 | 182 | $187,533 |
| Angiodynamics, Inc. | 6 | $89,191 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 74 | $31,303 |
| Livanova USA, Inc. | 28 | $11,632 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 35 | $5,887 |
| Boston Scientific | 21 | $2,040 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 41 | $1,645 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 2 | $147 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $79 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $41 |
| Getinge USA Sales, LLC | 1 | $34 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 1 | $25 |
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.
- Auryon Laser System 100-120 Vac$89,167
- Tendyne Mitral Valve System$87,407
- MITRIS RESILIA Mitral Valve$17,121
- TMVR$5,759
- Perceval$5,309
- CoreValve Evolut$4,867
- AMPLATZER Occluders$2,227
- Mitra Clip system$1,805
- MitraClip System$1,553
- Edwards SAPIEN 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve$1,411
- EVOQUE$1,195
- GENERAL - THERAPIES$1,090
- Cardiovascular- Research only$805
- Edwards MC3 Tricuspid Annuloplasty Ring$626
- SYNERGY ABLATION SYSTEM$337
- Bioprosthetic Mitral Valve$314
- Epic Stented Tissue Valve$291
- ATRICURE CRYOICE CRYOABLATION SYSTEM (CRYO2)$259
- MitraClip$231
- Edwards SAPIEN 3 Ultra Transcatheter Heart Valve$192
How this compares
$329,557 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 408 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Florida.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Florida →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 14 | $127 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 11 | $72 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 11 | $71 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Delray Beach
- Anthony NunezOrlando$4.8M
- Barry WintonLargo$687K
- Paul DigiorgiPort Charlotte$666K
- John PirrisJacksonville$640K
- Jacques FontaineTampa$630K
- Andrew ShermanTampa$517K
- Rogerio CarrilloHialeah$515K
- Daniel O'HairFort Myers$429K
- Luis HerreraOrlando$409K
- Joseph LamelasMiami$379K
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.