Bryan Vekovius, MD
Ophthalmology · Shreveport, LANPI 1285674820
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (57.4%), speaking fees and consulting fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 33 manufacturers reported payments, led by Amgen at 54.8% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $10,983 and has fallen 72.3% since, to $3,037 in 2025. Among ophthalmology clinicians in LA 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 674 payments — averaging $43.68 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Amgen$16K
- AstraZeneca$2K
- AbbVie$2K
- Merz North America, Inc.$933
- Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.$887
- Argenx US, Inc.$833
- plus $7K from 27 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$5,10017%
- Speaking & faculty fees$5,88820%
- Travel & lodging$1,5345%
- Food & beverage$16,88857%
- Education$100%
- Gifts$190%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amgen(2 entities) | 151 | $16,130 |
| AstraZeneca | 64 | $1,744 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 109 | $1,736 |
| Merz North America, Inc. | 15 | $933 |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 32 | $887 |
| Argenx US, Inc. | 30 | $833 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 32 | $725 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 29 | $706 |
| UCB, Inc. | 27 | $687 |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. | 17 | $653 |
| Novartis | 25 | $611 |
| Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 24 | $464 |
| Biotissue Holdings Inc. | 13 | $421 |
| Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 11 | $387 |
| Merz Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 13 | $382 |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 11 | $303 |
| Alimera Sciences, Inc. | 2 | $286 |
| Harrow Eye, LLC | 11 | $248 |
| Alcon | 11 | $222 |
| Pfizer | 8 | $155 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 5 | $139 |
| Springworks Therapeutics, Inc. | 5 | $136 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 6 | $126 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $112 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 5 | $99 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 4 | $80 |
| Galderma Laboratories, L.p. | 4 | $77 |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $59 |
| Axogen | 1 | $25 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec AG | 1 | $19 |
| Thea Pharma Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Glaukos Corporation | 1 | $14 |
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
$29,439 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 286 ophthalmology providers in Louisiana.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| UltomirisRavulizumab-Cwvz | 27 | $1,478,594 |
| TepezzaTeprotumumab-Trbw | 18 | $1,178,211 |
| RestasisCyclosporine | 183 | $211,646 |
| XiidraLifitegrast | 57 | $95,315 |
| Cyclosporine | 52 | $33,562 |
| MieboPerfluorohexyloctane/Pf | 32 | $25,013 |
| QuliptaAtogepant | 18 | $19,395 |
| VevyeCyclosporine | 26 | $18,656 |
| EysuvisLoteprednol Etabonate | 32 | $15,700 |
| Lotemax SmLoteprednol Etabonate | 63 | $15,593 |
| BotoxOnabotulinumtoxina | 12 | $14,188 |
| ErythromycinErythromycin Base | 1,242 | $12,897 |
| TyrvayaVarenicline Tartrate | 14 | $11,595 |
| ZyletTobramycin/Lotepred Etab | 21 | $8,333 |
| Loteprednol Etabonate | 40 | $6,844 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZenecaUltomiris | $1,744 | $1,478,59427 claims |
| AmgenTepezza | $16,130 | $1,178,21118 claims |
| AbbVieRestasis, Qulipta, Botox | $1,736 | $245,229213 claims |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.Xiidra, Miebo | $725 | $120,32889 claims |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLCLotemax Sm, Zylet, Loteprednol Etabonate | $303 | $30,770124 claims |
| Harrow Eye, LLCVevye | $248 | $18,65626 claims |
| Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Eysuvis | $464 | $15,70032 claims |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc.Tyrvaya | $653 | $11,59514 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 286 ophthalmology providers in Louisiana.
Other ophthalmology in Shreveport
- Wyche ColemanShreveport$35K
- Christopher ShelbyShreveport$27K
- Chanping LiangShreveport$15K
- Claude BundrickShreveport$12K
- Bryan LuskShreveport$10K
- Arthur KavanaughShreveport$7K
- Ann GuyShreveport$6K
- Jeffrey LuskShreveport$5K
- John CarmodyShreveport$5K
- Blake WilliamsonBaton Rouge$443K
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.