Charles Welden, MD
Internal Medicine · Charleston, SCNPI 1578950705
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 98.4% of the total across 392 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 30 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 21.1% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. 2025 is the largest year on record at $1,812, more than ten times the $114 reported in 2019. Among internal medicine clinicians in SC 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 392 payments — averaging $16.97 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$1K
- Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$1K
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.$847
- Johnson & Johnson$840
- Bristol Myers Squibb$296
- Sanofi$261
- plus $2K from 24 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$6,54598%
- Education$1072%
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 | 104 | $1,401 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 63 | $1,191 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 54 | $847 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 43 | $840 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 19 | $296 |
| Sanofi | 12 | $261 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 14 | $259 |
| Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc | 10 | $176 |
| Madrigal Pharmaceuticals | 6 | $158 |
| Pfizer | 8 | $156 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 8 | $135 |
| Celltrion USA Inc. | 6 | $124 |
| Gilead | 5 | $98 |
| Aimmune Therapeutics, Inc. | 5 | $86 |
| Evoke Pharma, Inc. | 4 | $83 |
| Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 6 | $79 |
| QOL Medical, LLC | 3 | $61 |
| Novo Nordisk | 3 | $58 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 2 | $47 |
| Braintree Laboratories, Inc. | 3 | $44 |
| Merck | 2 | $43 |
| Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC | 2 | $35 |
| Amgen | 2 | $33 |
| Nestle Healthcare Nutrition Inc. | 2 | $30 |
| Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. | 1 | $26 |
| Conmed Corporation | 1 | $23 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Axonics, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Exact Sciences | 1 | $15 |
| Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
How this compares
$6,653 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 1,498 internal medicine providers in South Carolina.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab | 24 | $163,477 |
| CreonLipase/Protease/Amylase | 50 | $156,857 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 67 | $81,944 |
| Cimzia (2 Pack)Certolizumab Pegol | 12 | $79,633 |
| XifaxanRifaximin | 19 | $65,951 |
| RelistorMethylnaltrexone Bromide | 12 | $27,662 |
| SutabSod Sulf/Pot Chloride/Mag Sulf | 134 | $21,436 |
| TrulancePlecanatide | 19 | $9,806 |
| MovantikNaloxegol Oxalate | 21 | $9,340 |
| DexilantDexlansoprazole | 17 | $8,105 |
| Esomeprazole Magnesium | 57 | $6,538 |
| Mesalamine | 21 | $5,689 |
| Budesonide DrBudesonide | 34 | $4,559 |
| Lubiprostone | 15 | $4,445 |
| Colestipol Hcl | 68 | $3,980 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieCreon, Linzess | $1,401 | $238,801117 claims |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLCXifaxan, Relistor, Trulance | $1,191 | $103,41950 claims |
| Braintree Laboratories, Inc.Sutab | $44 | $21,436134 claims |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.Dexilant | $847 | $8,10517 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 1,498 internal medicine providers in South Carolina.
Other internal medicine in Charleston
- Jan BasileCharleston$278K
- John CleekCharleston$136K
- Leonard AlsfeldCharleston$91K
- Brett TomashitisCharleston$36K
- Scott SandsCharleston$25K
- Laura KinneyCharleston$20K
- Andrew SchreinerCharleston$15K
- Hardik PatelCharleston$15K
- Mithunan MaheswaranathanCharleston$14K
- Frances HughesCharleston$11K
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.