Charles Sienknecht
Rheumatology · Hixson, TNNPI 1740224526
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 149 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 19 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 20.7% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $1,155 and has fallen 98.4% since, to $19 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for rheumatology clinicians in TN, where the typical reported total is $5,288.
Across 149 payments — averaging $14.09 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Pfizer$436
- Amgen$372
- Novartis$243
- Johnson & Johnson$231
- Genentech USA, Inc.$194
- AbbVie$127
- plus $497 from 13 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$2,100100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pfizer | 35 | $436 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 26 | $372 |
| Novartis | 15 | $243 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 17 | $231 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 16 | $194 |
| AbbVie | 8 | $127 |
| Radius Health, Inc. | 5 | $90 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 5 | $80 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 5 | $68 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 3 | $50 |
| UCB, Inc. | 4 | $47 |
| GSK | 3 | $44 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 1 | $22 |
| Sanofi | 1 | $22 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 1 | $20 |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA | 1 | $16 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| AstraZeneca | 1 | $11 |
| Pacira Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $11 |
How this compares
$2,100 in reported general payments places this provider in the 40th percentile of 127 rheumatology providers in Tennessee.
Most prescribed under Part D
| Drug | Claims | Cost to plans & patients |
|---|---|---|
| Prednisone | 11 | $113 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other rheumatology in Hixson
- Joseph HuffstutterHixson$742K
- Elizabeth SimpsonHixson$24K
- Alan ElliottHixson$19K
- Jessica HuffstutterHixson$15K
- Brett SmithKnoxville$587K
- Satish OdhavJackson$527K
- Jacob AelionJackson$459K
- Marcus OwenMurfreesboro$324K
- Mohammad AliHendersonville$251K
- Victor ByrdNashville$247K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.