Christopher Ellis, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Nashville, TNNPI 1528174752
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (53.4%), travel and lodging and speaking fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 14 manufacturers reported payments, led by Abbott at 56.0% of the total. Among cardiovascular disease clinicians in TN with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 921 payments — averaging $572.42 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abbott$295K
- Boston Scientific$156K
- Medtronic$41K
- Atricure, Inc.$19K
- Biosense Webster, Inc.$7K
- Philips North America LLC$4K
- plus $4K from 8 others
Across 312 payments — averaging $11,595 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$1.2M
- Abbott$911K
- Medtronic$618K
- Boehringer Ingelheim$596K
- Atricure, Inc.$240K
- Biosense Webster, Inc.$48K
- plus $21K from 1 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$281,70053%
- Speaking & faculty fees$76,96515%
- Travel & lodging$137,00726%
- Food & beverage$31,2806%
- Education$2500%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Abbott | 498 | $295,173 |
| Boston Scientific | 214 | $156,045 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 112 | $41,325 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 48 | $19,014 |
| Biosense Webster, Inc. | 13 | $7,155 |
| Philips North America LLC | 11 | $4,294 |
| Biotronik Inc. | 17 | $3,889 |
| Microtransponder, Inc. | 1 | $123 |
| Tactile Systems Technology Inc | 2 | $50 |
| Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. | 1 | $37 |
| Acutus Medical, Inc. | 1 | $37 |
| Bayer | 1 | $26 |
| Cvrx, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Altathera Pharmaceuticals LLC | 1 | $16 |
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.
- AMPLATZER AMULET$148,340
- AMPLATZER Occluders$65,905
- AMPLATZER$48,023
- Watchman$36,145
- WATCHMAN FLX$27,329
- VersaCross Access Solution$25,769
- WATCHMAN Access System$22,655
- GENERAL - THERAPIES$11,583
- Micra$10,662
- LARIAT RS$5,625
- JETi All In One Non-Sterile Kit$5,250
- Carto 3$4,959
- LARIAT SUTURE DELIVERY DEVICE$4,539
- CardioMEMS HF System$3,400
- ENSITE PRECISION$2,626
- MitraClip$2,297
- CVX-300$2,100
- Carto 3 System$1,800
- GENERAL PAIN MANAGEMENT$1,712
- ENSITE$1,467
How this compares
$527,202 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 429 cardiovascular disease providers in Tennessee.
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 | 515 | $688,280 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 79 | $98,134 |
| MultaqDronedarone Hcl | 37 | $63,736 |
| Dofetilide | 120 | $23,358 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 14 | $11,862 |
| Propafenone Hcl ErPropafenone Hcl | 46 | $7,074 |
| Flecainide Acetate | 101 | $6,023 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 260 | $4,633 |
| Amiodarone Hcl | 203 | $3,846 |
| Propafenone Hcl | 51 | $3,357 |
| Diltiazem 24hr Er (Cd)Diltiazem Hcl | 97 | $2,952 |
| SotalolSotalol Hcl | 80 | $1,558 |
| Bisoprolol Fumarate | 16 | $1,171 |
| Potassium Chloride | 34 | $946 |
| Warfarin Sodium | 47 | $728 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other cardiovascular disease in Nashville
- Joann LindenfeldNashville$270K
- Andrew ZurickNashville$231K
- Mark ZenkerNashville$225K
- George CrossleyNashville$197K
- Joel PharesNashville$171K
- Arvindh KanagasundramNashville$161K
- Jessica HustonNashville$109K
- Joshua BeckmanNashville$106K
- Travis RichardsonNashville$87K
- Aniket RaliNashville$75K
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.