Christopher Paul
Pain Medicine · Birmingham, ALNPI 1487940656
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — travel and lodging (30.4%), consulting fees and speaking fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. MML US, Inc. accounts for 64.7% of it on its own, with 22 other manufacturers making up the rest. 2025 is the largest year on record at $29,948, 9.7 times the $3,103 reported in 2019. Among pain medicine clinicians in AL 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 301 payments — averaging $211.46 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- MML US, Inc.$41K
- Abbott$14K
- Saluda Medical Americas, Inc.$4K
- Stryker$953
- Nevro Corp.$814
- Medtronic$510
- plus $2K from 17 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$18,09428%
- Speaking & faculty fees$14,52523%
- Travel & lodging$19,35730%
- Food & beverage$11,67318%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| MML US, Inc. | 74 | $41,186 |
| Abbott | 111 | $13,890 |
| Saluda Medical Americas, Inc. | 16 | $4,236 |
| Stryker | 11 | $953 |
| Nevro Corp. | 14 | $814 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 7 | $510 |
| Boston Scientific | 11 | $468 |
| SPR Therapeutics, Inc | 19 | $422 |
| Relievant Medsystems, Inc. | 7 | $342 |
| Globus Medical | 4 | $183 |
| Stratus Medical, LLC | 3 | $111 |
| Novo Nordisk | 5 | $99 |
| Si-bone, Inc. | 1 | $89 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 4 | $69 |
| Averitas Pharma Inc. | 3 | $66 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 2 | $44 |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $36 |
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 2 | $31 |
| Nalu Medical, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $23 |
| Spinal Simplicity, LLC | 1 | $20 |
| Avanos Medical | 1 | $16 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
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.
- ReActiv8$40,177
- PROCLAIM$10,681
- Evoke SCS$3,817
- Intracept$864
- Proclaim Family of SCS IPGs$794
- IVS - VERTEBRAL AUGMENTATION PRODUCTS$654
- Senza Spinal Cord Stimulation System$386
- INTELLIS$345
- Axium INS DRG IPG$163
- IVS - MULTIGEN 2RF$150
- Proclaim XR IPG$125
- Neuromodulation Dspsbls and Accs$123
- Evoke$119
- Proclaim IPG$117
How this compares
$63,649 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 77 pain medicine providers in Alabama.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| BelbucaBuprenorphine Hcl | 22 | $13,367 |
| Buprenorphine | 68 | $11,618 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 218 | $4,535 |
| Gabapentin | 208 | $3,246 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 116 | $2,951 |
| Pregabalin | 71 | $2,886 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 55 | $541 |
| Morphine Sulfate | 17 | $371 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 30 | $218 |
| Cephalexin | 18 | $57 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Companies that both paid and supply prescribed drugs
These companies both reported payments to this provider and make drugs the provider prescribed under Medicare Part D in 2024. For most specialties this overlap is expected — a cardiologist who is paid by a cardiology drugmaker also treats heart disease. It is shown so the reader can see it, not because it implies anything on its own.
| Company | Paid to this provider | Part D cost of their drugs |
|---|---|---|
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.Belbuca | $31 | $13,36722 claims |
Reading this fairly. The Part D column is what drug plans and patients paid pharmacies — this provider received none of it, and it reflects how many patients they treat and what those drugs cost. Against peers, this provider's reported payments sit in the 95th percentile of 77 pain medicine providers in Alabama.
Other pain medicine in Birmingham
- Joseph Roland FrenetteBirmingham$7K
- Brandon BrooksBirmingham$5K
- Jason NoltBirmingham$4K
- Lisa HumphriesBirmingham$3K
- Edwin KelseyBirmingham$2K
- Charles CarnelBirmingham$2K
- Chad AustinBirmingham$1K
- Kara BurnsBirmingham$1K
- Kyle GlasserBirmingham$1K
- Lisa ColumbiaBirmingham$400
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.