Chafik Assal, MD
Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology · Charleston, WVNPI 1083889109
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (54.5%), food and beverage and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 15 manufacturers reported payments, led by ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) at 52.5% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $26,378 and has fallen 83.4% since, to $4,383 in 2025.
Across 511 payments — averaging $163.62 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$44K
- Biosense Webster, Inc.$11K
- Abbott$10K
- Medtronic$9K
- Boston Scientific$4K
- Biotronik Inc.$3K
- plus $2K from 9 others
Across 153 payments — averaging $787.13 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.
- Boston Scientific$69K
- Medtronic$49K
- Biotronik Inc.$1K
- Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc.$500
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$5,4006%
- Speaking & faculty fees$45,60055%
- Travel & lodging$13,06816%
- Food & beverage$19,42523%
- Education$1150%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 131 | $43,919 |
| Biosense Webster, Inc. | 20 | $11,217 |
| Abbott | 225 | $10,270 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 39 | $8,979 |
| Boston Scientific | 61 | $4,001 |
| Biotronik Inc. | 9 | $3,315 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 6 | $655 |
| Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc. | 9 | $444 |
| Cvrx, Inc. | 5 | $393 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $140 |
| Medicomp Inc | 1 | $129 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $59 |
| Heartflow, Inc. | 1 | $53 |
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Cardiovascular Systems Inc. | 1 | $13 |
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.
- LifeVest$41,461
- Carto 3 System$10,697
- Carto Smarttouch$10,461
- Carto CFAE$10,461
- CartoSound$10,461
- AVEIR$3,276
- GENERAL - THERAPIES$2,187
- Arctic Front$1,596
- ENSITE$1,065
- Allure Quadra RF CRT Pacemaker$523
- Micra$504
- Confirm Rx$500
- EPI-SENSE GUIDED COAGULATION SYSTEM WITH VISITRAX$446
- ALLURE QUADRA$426
- Barostim Neo System$382
- VIEWMATE$369
- Agilis NxT EP Introducer$299
- SelectSecure$295
- Quadra Allure MP RF CRT Pacemkr$254
- ASSURITY$254
How this compares
Too few clinical cardiac electrophysiology providers in West Virginiato place this figure against a meaningful peer group, so we don't.
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 | 36 | $47,271 |
| Dofetilide | 16 | $1,742 |
| Amiodarone Hcl | 112 | $1,445 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 11 | $333 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 36 | $299 |
| Doxycycline Hyclate | 55 | $206 |
| Mupirocin | 32 | $188 |
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 | $140 | $47,27136 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. There are too few clinical cardiac electrophysiology providers in West Virginiaon file to place this against a meaningful peer group, so we don't.
Other clinical cardiac electrophysiology in Charleston
- Tania BabarCharleston$29K
- Kevin DriverCharleston$12K
- George JosephWeirton$97K
- Khalid AbozguiaHuntington$73K
- Aamir CheemaHuntington$51K
- Salam SbaityMorgantown$50K
- Christopher KolibashWeirton$42K
- Glen MiskeWeirton$39K
- Latoya Linton-FrazierMorgantown$36K
- Alexey SergeevMorgantown$15K
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.