Christopher Chittum, MD
Neurological Surgery · Spartanburg, SCNPI 1548286412
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — royalties or licence payments (51.3%), travel and lodging and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 14 manufacturers reported payments, led by Vy Spine LLC at 50.5% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $14,545, more than ten times the $1,253 reported in 2019.
Across 54 payments — averaging $515.74 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Vy Spine LLC$14K
- Alphatec Spine, Inc$11K
- Orthofix Medical, Inc.$972
- Spineology Inc.$876
- Abbott$648
- Globus Medical$233
- plus $548 from 8 others
Across 4 payments — averaging $83,440 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.
- Allied Spinal Industries$334K
What the payments were for
- Royalty or licence$14,29051%
- Travel & lodging$11,63342%
- Food & beverage$1,9277%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Vy Spine LLC | 1 | $14,056 |
| Alphatec Spine, Inc | 19 | $10,517 |
| Orthofix Medical, Inc. | 7 | $972 |
| Spineology Inc. | 1 | $876 |
| Abbott | 14 | $648 |
| Globus Medical | 3 | $233 |
| Seaspine Orthopedics Corporation | 1 | $160 |
| Providence Medical Technology, Inc. | 1 | $107 |
| Intrinsic Therapeutics | 2 | $96 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $81 |
| Inari Medical, Inc. | 1 | $41 |
| Saluda Medical Americas, Inc. | 1 | $35 |
| Vertex | 1 | $17 |
| Surgalign Spine Technologies, Inc. | 1 | $10 |
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
$27,850 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 114 neurological surgery 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Baclofen | 11 | $1,616 |
| Gabapentin | 61 | $535 |
| Tizanidine Hcl | 24 | $417 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 36 | $367 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 34 | $295 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 36 | $275 |
| Methocarbamol | 23 | $260 |
| Meloxicam | 55 | $171 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 25 | $151 |
| Pregabalin | 11 | $133 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 30 | $100 |
| Methylprednisolone | 17 | $78 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other neurological surgery in Spartanburg
- Adam BackSpartanburg$99K
- Phillip EsceSpartanburg$32K
- Robert FlandrySpartanburg$10K
- Alejandro SpiottaCharleston$894K
- David JonesRock Hill$540K
- Sabino DagostinoLadson$425K
- Jan Vargas MachajGreenville$207K
- Michael CowanRock Hill$184K
- Jonathan LenaCharleston$110K
- Matthew NealCharleston$65K
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.