Chris Malone, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Watkinsville, GANPI 1679581474
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 72 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 11 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 24.9% of the total. That places this record below the midpoint for thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in GA, where the typical reported total is $6,234.
Across 72 payments — averaging $24.11 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$431
- Boston Scientific$398
- AbbVie$353
- Tactile Systems Technology Inc$193
- Biocompatibles, Inc.$133
- Heraeus Medical, LLC.$119
- plus $109 from 5 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$1,736100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 27 | $431 |
| Boston Scientific | 9 | $398 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 16 | $353 |
| Tactile Systems Technology Inc | 11 | $193 |
| Biocompatibles, Inc. | 2 | $133 |
| Heraeus Medical, LLC. | 1 | $119 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2 | $33 |
| Cashflow Solutions, LLC | 1 | $22 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $21 |
| Pacira Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | 1 | $20 |
| AstraZeneca | 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.
How this compares
$1,736 in reported general payments places this provider in the 30th percentile of 144 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Georgia.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Georgia →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tramadol Hcl | 37 | $28 |
| Alprazolam | 44 | $23 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Watkinsville
- Jeremy LondonSavannah$1.6M
- Vinod ThouraniMarietta$1.2M
- Manu SanchetiAtlanta$805K
- John PuskasAtlanta$332K
- Douglas MurphyAtlanta$254K
- Daniel MillerMarietta$237K
- Ezequiel MolinaAtlanta$215K
- Gaetano PaoneAtlanta$134K
- Michael HalkosAtlanta$102K
- William MayfieldMarietta$89K
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.