Chad Christopherson, MD
Interventional Cardiology · San Antonio, TXNPI 1154305365
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (53.7%), other and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 53 manufacturers reported payments, led by Angiodynamics, Inc. at 31.3% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $41,781, 5.2 times the $8,084 reported in 2019. Among interventional cardiology clinicians in TX 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 1,184 payments — averaging $106.67 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Angiodynamics, Inc.$40K
- Medtronic$24K
- Penumbra, Inc.$20K
- Abbott$14K
- Abiomed$6K
- Edwards Lifesciences$3K
- plus $21K from 47 others
Across 8 payments — averaging $4985.56 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.
- Penumbra, Inc.$40K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$5000%
- Speaking & faculty fees$5,3004%
- Travel & lodging$13,86911%
- Food & beverage$67,81854%
- Education$2550%
- Other$38,55631%
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.
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.
- Auryon Laser System 100-120 Vac$38,890
- Indigo System$17,690
- COREVALVE EVOLUT R$8,244
- Impella$4,531
- RS 4i Plus Sequential Stimulator$2,806
- RESOLUTE ONYX$2,516
- CoreValve Evolut$2,037
- ELLIPSYS VASCULAR ACCESS SYSTEM$1,677
- COROFLOW$1,600
- OPTIS$1,515
- Diamondback Coronary$1,379
- Mitra Clip system$1,307
- NAVITOR$1,043
- Edwards SAPIEN 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve$1,004
- FLOWTRIEVER CATHETER, S$852
- CT THROMBECTOMY SYSTEM KIT$852
- Barostim Neo System$784
- Edwards SAPIEN 3 Ultra Transcatheter Heart Valve$640
- Grafts$574
- SYMPLICITY G3$567
How this compares
$126,298 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 686 interventional cardiology providers in Texas.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 180 | $204,781 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 79 | $97,368 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 17 | $21,459 |
| Ranolazine ErRanolazine | 30 | $3,759 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 262 | $2,316 |
| Carvedilol | 229 | $2,070 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 53 | $1,188 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 118 | $1,070 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 120 | $1,050 |
| Furosemide | 116 | $648 |
| SotalolSotalol Hcl | 16 | $625 |
| Metoprolol Tartrate | 99 | $614 |
| Digoxin | 17 | $577 |
| Nitroglycerin | 38 | $556 |
| Isosorbide Mononitrate ErIsosorbide Mononitrate | 66 | $519 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $94 | $204,781180 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $742 | $97,36879 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $60 | $21,45917 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 90th percentile of 686 interventional cardiology providers in Texas.
Other interventional cardiology in San Antonio
- Robert ChiltonSan Antonio$1.3M
- Anand PrasadSan Antonio$306K
- Nandish ThukralSan Antonio$259K
- Marvin EngSan Antonio$148K
- Vikas BhallaSan Antonio$123K
- Shah-Hinan AhmedSan Antonio$113K
- Juan GranadaHouston$4.1M
- Vamsi KrishnaKyle$2M
- Jeffrey CarrTyler$1.9M
- John IsaacHouston$1.8M
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.