Brian Houston, MD
Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology · Charleston, SCNPI 1700043882
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by consulting fees: $26,863 of the $42,881 with a category attached, or 62.6%. 9 manufacturers reported payments, led by Abbott at 59.4% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $25,785, 5.1 times the $5,062 reported in 2019.
Across 107 payments — averaging $400.76 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abbott$25K
- Edwards Lifesciences$7K
- Medtronic$6K
- Abiomed$2K
- Cvrx, Inc.$476
- Ancora Heart, Inc.$371
- plus $415 from 3 others
Across 50 payments — averaging $9634.62 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.
- Edwards Lifesciences$358K
- Amgen$54K
- Medtronic$35K
- Actelion Pharmaceuticals, Ltd$25K
- Cvrx, Inc.$10K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$26,86363%
- Travel & lodging$11,59727%
- Food & beverage$4,42210%
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 | 50 | $25,466 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 15 | $7,426 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 27 | $6,321 |
| Abiomed | 6 | $2,407 |
| Cvrx, Inc. | 5 | $476 |
| Ancora Heart, Inc. | 1 | $371 |
| Endotronix, Inc. | 1 | $271 |
| Novartis | 1 | $119 |
| Briohealth Solutions, Inc. | 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.
How this compares
$42,881 in reported general payments places this provider in the 70th percentile of 30 advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in South Carolina.
See all advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in South Carolina →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| VyndamaxTafamidis | 25 | $492,955 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 294 | $308,879 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 128 | $128,790 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 107 | $117,810 |
| EliquisApixaban | 63 | $76,723 |
| Sandostatin Lar DepotOctreotide Acetate,mi-Spheres | 11 | $50,236 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 13 | $14,950 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 15 | $11,856 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 61 | $8,247 |
| Eplerenone | 42 | $3,491 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 165 | $1,970 |
| Spironolactone | 200 | $1,570 |
| Digoxin | 20 | $946 |
| Carvedilol | 91 | $709 |
| MethotrexateMethotrexate Sodium | 31 | $634 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| NovartisEntresto, Sandostatin Lar Depot | $119 | $359,116305 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 30 advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology providers in South Carolina.
Other advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology in Charleston
- Ryan TedfordCharleston$528K
- Michael ZileCharleston$358K
- Daniel JudgeCharleston$116K
- Ramsey WehbeCharleston$108K
- Sheldon LitwinCharleston$86K
- Jan GriffinCharleston$23K
- Adrian VanbakelCharleston$21K
- Daniel SilvermanCharleston$11K
- Vishal RaoCharleston$10K
- Michele EspositoCharleston$8K
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.