Christopher Kim, MD
Interventional Pain Medicine · Charleston, WVNPI 1780619742
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (51.6%), speaking fees and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 18 manufacturers reported payments, led by Abbott at 43.1% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2020 at $28,305 and has fallen 81.7% since, to $5,184 in 2025.
Across 507 payments — averaging $212.22 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abbott$46K
- Boston Scientific$25K
- Vertos Medical, Inc.$15K
- Vertiflex, Inc.$12K
- Aurora Spine, Inc.$4K
- Spinal Simplicity, LLC$3K
- plus $3K from 12 others
Across 169 payments — averaging $1007.48 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.
- Vertos Medical, Inc.$109K
- Saluda Medical Americas, Inc.$29K
- Painteq LLC$14K
- Stryker$10K
- Abbott$9K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$55,49952%
- Speaking & faculty fees$30,50028%
- Travel & lodging$5401%
- Food & beverage$21,05720%
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 | 412 | $46,349 |
| Boston Scientific | 21 | $24,766 |
| Vertos Medical, Inc. | 21 | $14,798 |
| Vertiflex, Inc. | 9 | $11,859 |
| Aurora Spine, Inc. | 3 | $3,500 |
| Spinal Simplicity, LLC | 6 | $3,110 |
| Painteq LLC | 3 | $1,724 |
| Foundation Fusion Solutions, LLC | 4 | $419 |
| Nevro Corp. | 11 | $316 |
| Stryker | 2 | $205 |
| Flowonix Medical Incorporated | 1 | $131 |
| Stimwave Technologies Incorporated | 1 | $117 |
| Saluda Medical Americas, Inc. | 3 | $96 |
| Curonix LLC | 3 | $72 |
| SPR Therapeutics, Inc | 2 | $59 |
| Medtronic | 3 | $47 |
| Si-bone, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| AbbVie | 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.
- SUPERION$22,415
- PROCLAIM$20,430
- mild Device Kit$14,367
- Superion ISS$11,750
- Proclaim Family of SCS IPGs$11,014
- ZIP$3,500
- ETERNA$3,147
- HA MINUTEMAN G3-R$2,990
- VERIFLEX$2,000
- Neuromodulation Dspsbls and Accs$1,906
- Proclaim IPG$1,760
- PAINTEQ$1,724
- PRODIGY$178
- SPINEJACK$159
- Axium INS DRG IPG$138
- Prometra II$131
- StimQ Receiver Stimulator Kit Channel A US w Receiver$117
- StimQ Freedom-4A Receiver Kit Channel A US w/ Receiver$117
- StimQ Freedom 8A Receiver Kit Channel A US w Receiver$117
- Freedom 4A Receiver Kit Channel A US w Receiver$117
How this compares
Too few interventional pain medicine providers in West Virginiato place this figure against a meaningful peer group, so we don't.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fentanyl | 127 | $13,647 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 807 | $12,626 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 531 | $11,398 |
| Buprenorphine | 28 | $9,497 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 192 | $3,304 |
| Methadone Hcl | 134 | $2,333 |
| Morphine Sulfate ErMorphine Sulfate | 90 | $1,998 |
| Gabapentin | 168 | $1,685 |
| Acetaminophen-CodeineAcetaminophen With Codeine | 49 | $1,440 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 159 | $1,005 |
| Tizanidine Hcl | 110 | $810 |
| Lidocaine | 11 | $804 |
| Cephalexin | 116 | $541 |
| Etodolac | 11 | $471 |
| Nabumetone | 31 | $418 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other interventional pain medicine in Charleston
- Timothy DeerCharleston$3.4M
- Anuj ShahCharleston$7K
- Rudy MalayilHuntington$104K
- Andrew ThymiusBeckley$9K
- Raymond GreaserWheeling$9K
- Stephanie leWeirton$9K
- Corinne Layne StuartBridgeport$8K
- Luay MradParkersburg$8K
- George van OstenMartinsburg$145
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.