Brian Torres Mercado
Internal Medicine · Ponce, PRNPI 1184253338
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 95.7% of the total across 165 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 19 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 15.4% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. 2025 is the largest year on record at $2,793, more than ten times the $46 reported in 2020. Among internal medicine clinicians in PR 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 165 payments — averaging $37.17 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$942
- Boston Scientific$912
- Abbott$870
- Bayer$670
- Boehringer Ingelheim$456
- AstraZeneca$436
- plus $2K from 13 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$5,86896%
- Education$2664%
Most of this is food and beverage — typically meals provided during product presentations at a clinic or hospital. Nationally that is the single largest category of reported payments by count.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic | 24 | $942 |
| Boston Scientific | 23 | $912 |
| Abbott | 27 | $870 |
| Bayer | 7 | $670 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 8 | $456 |
| AstraZeneca | 11 | $436 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 9 | $353 |
| PBG Puerto Rico LLC | 16 | $271 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 8 | $223 |
| Bayer Puerto Rico Inc. | 8 | $164 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $164 |
| Novartis | 7 | $152 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 8 | $145 |
| GSK | 1 | $125 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 1 | $91 |
| Chiesi USA, Inc. | 3 | $61 |
| Merck | 1 | $55 |
| Terumo Medical Corporation | 1 | $24 |
| Puma Biotechnology, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
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.
- GALLANT$266
- Adempas$250
- Kerendia$235
- JARDIANCE$235
- INSPIRIS RESILIA aortic valve$164
- RESONATE EL ICD VR$151
- LUX-Dx Insertable Cardiac Monitor$147
- COBALT DR MRI SURESCAN$137
- NUCALA$125
- AURORA EV-ICD MRI SURESCAN$117
- LifeVest$104
- LOKELMA$100
How this compares
$6,134 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 1,043 internal medicine providers in Puerto Rico.
Most prescribed under Part D
| Drug | Claims | Cost to plans & patients |
|---|---|---|
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 24 | $136 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 11 | $80 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other internal medicine in Ponce
- Hector Martinez FornaPonce$19K
- Elizabeth BarrancoPonce$15K
- Enrique Rodriguez-PazPonce$14K
- Carlos RiveraPonce$12K
- Darcy Diago BlancoPonce$10K
- Rafael Espinet PerezPonce$7K
- Raul Cota LeyPonce$6K
- Humberto SimonettiPonce$6K
- Stephen Bury FiolPonce$5K
- Eduardo Colon MelendezPonce$5K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.