Brian Sullivan, DO
Sports Medicine · Hickory, NCNPI 1831551654
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by grants: $23,898 of the $36,868 with a category attached, or 64.8%. Arthrex accounts for 61.1% of it on its own, with 17 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $27,537 and has fallen 99.2% since, to $212 in 2025. Among sports medicine clinicians in NC with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 66 payments — averaging $558.61 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Arthrex$23K
- CDC Medical LLC$5K
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$4K
- Medinc Of Texas$4K
- Smith+Nephew$1K
- Stryker$270
- plus $498 from 12 others
What the payments were for
- Grants$23,89865%
- Travel & lodging$1,7155%
- Food & beverage$1,7745%
- Education$9,48126%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Arthrex | 24 | $22,543 |
| CDC Medical LLC | 3 | $4,681 |
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 1 | $3,898 |
| Medinc Of Texas | 7 | $3,789 |
| Smith+Nephew | 10 | $1,189 |
| Stryker | 4 | $270 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 1 | $115 |
| Bioventus LLC | 4 | $82 |
| Linvatec Corporation | 1 | $53 |
| Catalyst Orthoscience | 2 | $51 |
| Piedmont Plus Innovation | 1 | $49 |
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 2 | $40 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $24 |
| Averitas Pharma Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Vertex | 1 | $20 |
| Pacira Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | 1 | $14 |
| Electronic Waveform Lab, Inc. | 1 | $13 |
| Fidia Pharma USA Inc. | 1 | $13 |
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.
- REAL INTELLIGENCE$823
- Journey II$218
- MAKO$167
- ARTHREX$139
- Comprehensive Shoulder System$115
How this compares
$36,868 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 158 sports medicine providers in North 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Meloxicam | 376 | $1,083 |
| Ondansetron OdtOndansetron | 66 | $660 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 58 | $603 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 51 | $365 |
| Methylprednisolone | 56 | $357 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 71 | $349 |
| Diclofenac Sodium | 18 | $219 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 40 | $160 |
| Gabapentin | 26 | $127 |
| Cephalexin | 15 | $95 |
| Ibuprofen | 11 | $67 |
| Diazepam | 11 | $8 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other sports medicine in Hickory
- Brian WatermanWinston Salem$360K
- Allston StubbsWinston Salem$184K
- Robert BoykinAsheville$126K
- Tally EddingsAsheville$109K
- Rebecca BassettGreensboro$69K
- Wallace HarrisAsheville$58K
- Alan ReynoldsGreensboro$54K
- Fletcher PreussCharlotte$53K
- Anthony MaroisSherrills Ford$47K
- Andrew KerstenHendersonville$41K
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.