Carlos Higuera Rueda, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery · Weston, FLNPI 1437344991
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (56.4%), speaking fees and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 21 manufacturers reported payments, led by KCI USA, Inc. at 30.7% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $43,234, 2.3 times the $19,189 reported in 2019. Among orthopaedic surgery clinicians in FL 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 204 payments — averaging $875.97 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- KCI USA, Inc.$55K
- Stryker$42K
- Solventum Corporation$29K
- Davol Inc.$29K
- Depuy Synthes Products, Inc.$9K
- Zimmer Biomet$7K
- plus $9K from 15 others
Across 38 payments — averaging $17,821 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.
- Stryker$212K
- Zimmer Biomet$190K
- KCI USA, Inc.$167K
- Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc.$109K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$100,76356%
- Speaking & faculty fees$55,29431%
- Travel & lodging$6,8174%
- Food & beverage$8,3255%
- Education$2,5001%
- Charitable contribution$5,0003%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| KCI USA, Inc. | 38 | $54,854 |
| Stryker | 74 | $41,982 |
| Solventum Corporation | 13 | $28,946 |
| Davol Inc. | 22 | $28,571 |
| Depuy Synthes Products, Inc. | 7 | $8,532 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 23 | $6,542 |
| Convatec Inc. | 1 | $3,000 |
| Carbofix Orthopedics Inc | 2 | $2,524 |
| G21 SRL | 1 | $1,500 |
| Bone Support Inc. | 1 | $1,000 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 5 | $273 |
| Surgalign Spine Technologies, Inc. | 4 | $256 |
| Medtronic | 2 | $171 |
| UOC USA Inc | 2 | $146 |
| Onkos Surgical, Inc. | 2 | $133 |
| Philips North America LLC | 1 | $123 |
| Bioventus LLC | 2 | $44 |
| Vertex | 1 | $32 |
| Total Joint Orthopedics, Inc. | 1 | $30 |
| Smith+Nephew | 1 | $25 |
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
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.
- PREVENA$72,569
- MAKO$35,267
- PREVENA RESTOR ARTHROFORM$32,956
- V.A.C. VERAFLO$18,246
- PREVENA RESTOR ARTHO-FORM$17,797
- PREVENA RESTOR AXIOFORM$15,813
- PREVENA RESTOR BELLAFORM$15,268
- PREVENA RESTOR AXIO-FORM$14,806
- PREVENA RESTOR ROTO-FORM$14,806
- Prevena Restor Bella Form$14,676
- SpotOn$9,100
- 3M Ioban$7,150
- 3M DuraPrep Surgical$6,500
- Grants$5,000
- TRIATHLON$3,908
- Ioban 2$3,850
- AQUACEL AG$3,000
- CarboFix Orthopedics Nail & Plate$2,500
- TRITANIUM$2,250
- INSIGNIA$2,000
How this compares
$178,698 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 1,263 orthopaedic surgery providers in Florida.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Diclofenac Sodium | 133 | $2,278 |
| Mupirocin | 116 | $791 |
| Meloxicam | 28 | $92 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 14 | $40 |
| Amoxicillin | 13 | $16 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other orthopaedic surgery in Weston
- Alfred DesimoneWeston$867K
- Andrew CooperClearwater$102M
- Richard HynesMelbourne$34.8M
- Mark FrankleTemple Terrace$31M
- Roy SandersTemple Terrace$19.6M
- George HaidukewychOrlando$10M
- Robert SantrockFernandina Beach$7.3M
- Martin RocheFt. Lauderdale$7.1M
- Steven LyonsTampa$6.7M
- Thomas BernasekTemple Terrace$6.4M
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.