Christopher Hess, MD
Anesthesiology · Wilmington, NCNPI 1356631162
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (51.4%), consulting fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 34 manufacturers reported payments, led by Saluda Medical Americas, Inc. at 40.1% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $9,832, more than ten times the $878 reported in 2019. Among anesthesiology clinicians in NC 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 484 payments — averaging $41.34 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Saluda Medical Americas, Inc.$8K
- Boston Scientific$7K
- Abbott$1K
- Medtronic$839
- Nevro Corp.$513
- AbbVie$478
- plus $2K from 28 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$7,83839%
- Travel & lodging$1,8869%
- Food & beverage$10,28351%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Saluda Medical Americas, Inc. | 11 | $8,021 |
| Boston Scientific | 207 | $6,787 |
| Abbott | 86 | $1,357 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 38 | $839 |
| Nevro Corp. | 16 | $513 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 32 | $478 |
| Relievant Medsystems, Inc. | 5 | $387 |
| Globus Medical | 6 | $271 |
| Amgen | 21 | $243 |
| Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC | 10 | $144 |
| Si-bone, Inc. | 5 | $104 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 6 | $98 |
| Vertex | 3 | $84 |
| Vertos Medical, Inc. | 4 | $62 |
| Azurity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $56 |
| SPR Therapeutics, Inc | 2 | $55 |
| Novartis | 1 | $49 |
| Assertio Therapeutics, Inc. | 3 | $43 |
| AstraZeneca | 2 | $42 |
| Virtus Pharmaceuticals LLC | 2 | $42 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $41 |
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 3 | $41 |
| Merz Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 2 | $40 |
| Novo Nordisk | 2 | $34 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 1 | $31 |
| Almatica Pharma LLC | 2 | $25 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $22 |
| Stryker | 1 | $18 |
| Pacira Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | 1 | $17 |
| Nalu Medical, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Avanos Medical | 1 | $13 |
| Zyla Life Sciences, Inc. | 1 | $13 |
| Bsn Medical Inc | 1 | $12 |
| Pajunk Medical Systems, LP | 1 | $8 |
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.
- Evoke$7,838
- Intracept$646
- GENERAL PAIN MANAGEMENT$617
- Senza$263
- INTERSTIM$156
- INTELLIS ADAPTIVESTIM$131
- WaveWriter Alpha Prime 16$129
How this compares
$20,007 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 1,149 anesthesiology providers in North 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 | 212 | $2,857 |
| Gabapentin | 153 | $1,232 |
| Pregabalin | 39 | $517 |
| Methocarbamol | 17 | $180 |
| Meloxicam | 39 | $178 |
| Methylprednisolone | 15 | $77 |
| Tizanidine Hcl | 12 | $65 |
| Cephalexin | 13 | $49 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 15 | $32 |
| Diazepam | 21 | $13 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other anesthesiology in Wilmington
- Jeffrey GadsdenDurham$821K
- Gerald MaccioliRaleigh$330K
- Loran SolimanCharlotte$306K
- Jerrold LevyDurham$305K
- Alicia WarlickDurham$127K
- William BullockDurham$126K
- Karthik RaghunathanDurham$123K
- Scott RunyonDurham$123K
- Edward LewisHendersonville$118K
- Florin OrzaCharlotte$115K
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.