Caitlin McKaraher
Physician Assistant · Hickory, NCNPI 1578134953
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 98.2% of the total across 578 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 24 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 17.2% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. 2025 is the largest year on record at $3,173, more than ten times the $126 reported in 2021. Among physician assistant clinicians in NC 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 578 payments — averaging $16.21 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$2K
- ITI, Inc. (d/b/a Intra-cellular Therapies, Inc.)$1K
- Axsome Therapeutics, Inc.$771
- Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc.$630
- Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$619
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$600
- plus $4K from 18 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$9,19898%
- Education$1712%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVie | 141 | $1,612 |
| ITI, Inc. (d/b/a Intra-cellular Therapies, Inc.) | 77 | $1,484 |
| Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. | 37 | $771 |
| Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 40 | $630 |
| Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 26 | $619 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 34 | $600 |
| Alkermes, Inc. | 27 | $549 |
| Corium, LLC | 58 | $492 |
| Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. | 17 | $385 |
| Ironshore Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 22 | $344 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | 14 | $328 |
| Almatica Pharma LLC | 14 | $251 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 11 | $243 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 10 | $207 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 12 | $177 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 7 | $162 |
| Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc | 7 | $138 |
| Tris Pharma Inc | 9 | $132 |
| Neos Therapeutics, LP | 6 | $99 |
| Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 4 | $45 |
| Noven Therapeutics, LLC | 2 | $38 |
| Luye Pharma (USA) Ltd. | 1 | $26 |
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Eisai Inc. | 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
$9,368 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 7,441 physician assistant providers in North Carolina.
Most prescribed under Part D
| Drug | Claims | Cost to plans & patients |
|---|---|---|
| Fluoxetine Hcl | 21 | $381 |
| Clonazepam | 24 | $233 |
| Alprazolam | 20 | $230 |
| Mirtazapine | 14 | $184 |
| Venlafaxine Hcl ErVenlafaxine Hcl | 26 | $162 |
| Quetiapine Fumarate | 11 | $143 |
| Aripiprazole | 13 | $122 |
| Risperidone | 11 | $96 |
| Lorazepam | 14 | $89 |
| Trazodone Hcl | 11 | $63 |
| Propranolol Hcl | 12 | $47 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other physician assistant in Hickory
- Sarah PadgettHickory$29K
- Jo HughesGreensboro$814K
- Rachel HolzhauerCharlotte$739K
- Amber BlairCharlotte$551K
- Benjamin EpsteinDavidson$447K
- Rebecca KrausDavidson$425K
- Brooke JonesGoldsboro$259K
- Philip ReasbeckWilson$180K
- Katherine SchultzHuntersville$164K
- Kristin CabedaCharlotte$135K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.