Brian Bruel
Interventional Pain Medicine · Houston, TXNPI 1659563047
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (47.4%), speaking fees and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 60 manufacturers reported payments, led by Saluda Medical Americas, Inc. at 36.6% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $75,850 and has fallen 69.7% since, to $22,953 in 2025. Among interventional pain medicine clinicians in TX 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 1,220 payments — averaging $179.69 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Saluda Medical Americas, Inc.$80K
- Boston Scientific$43K
- Tersera Therapeutics LLC$35K
- Medtronic$19K
- Flowonix Medical Incorporated$8K
- MML US, Inc.$6K
- plus $29K from 54 others
Across 2 payments — averaging $186.23 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.
- Saluda Medical Americas, Inc.$372
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$103,87347%
- Speaking & faculty fees$49,81723%
- Travel & lodging$24,03311%
- Food & beverage$41,17519%
- Education$3220%
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.
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.
- Evoke$64,811
- PRIALT$33,246
- WAVEWRITER ALPHA$22,746
- Evoke SCS$13,313
- Intracept$9,687
- KYPHON Balloon Kyphoplasty$9,090
- Prometra II$7,591
- GENERAL - THERAPIES$7,438
- GENERAL PAIN MANAGEMENT$5,717
- INTELLIS ADAPTIVESTIM$5,358
- ReActiv8$4,777
- SPECTRA WAVEWRITER$3,729
- Prospera$2,111
- HA MINUTEMAN G3-R$1,949
- SYNCHROMED$1,606
- PROCLAIM$1,295
- Nalu Neurostimulation System$1,054
- Senza Spinal Cord Stimulation System$811
- IFUSE IMPLANT SYSTEM$638
- PAINTEQ$602
How this compares
$219,219 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 287 interventional pain medicine 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 | 1,322 | $38,188 |
| BelbucaBuprenorphine Hcl | 52 | $33,547 |
| Xtampza ErOxycodone Myristate | 65 | $28,423 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 39 | $25,037 |
| LyricaPregabalin | 13 | $11,866 |
| SymproicNaldemedine Tosylate | 25 | $11,471 |
| Lidocaine | 120 | $10,992 |
| Gabapentin | 684 | $10,101 |
| OxycontinOxycodone Hcl | 29 | $9,866 |
| Pregabalin | 494 | $8,857 |
| Emgality PenGalcanezumab-Gnlm | 13 | $8,778 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 448 | $8,736 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 308 | $8,099 |
| Morphine Sulfate ErMorphine Sulfate | 296 | $7,523 |
| Fentanyl | 43 | $6,785 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.Belbuca, Xtampza Er | $328 | $61,970117 claims |
| AbbVieLinzess | $2,963 | $25,03739 claims |
| PfizerLyrica | $467 | $11,86613 claims |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USABuprenorphine, Morphine Sulfate | $21 | $11,013158 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 287 interventional pain medicine providers in Texas.
Other interventional pain medicine in Houston
- Ioannis SkaribasHouston$92K
- George AtallahHouston$48K
- Shervin HarandiHouston$39K
- Gabor RaczLubbock$3M
- Pankaj MehtaKilleen$2.1M
- Chad StephensSouthlake$1M
- Ankur KhoslaShenandoah$277K
- Brian RichDecatur$245K
- Bolkar SahinlerLubbock$188K
- Timothy RatinoFort Worth$139K
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.