Christopher Salem, DO
Geriatric Medicine · Irvine, CANPI 1124273313
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 98.6% of the total across 210 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 38 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 14.0% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Among geriatric medicine clinicians in CA with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 210 payments — averaging $20.31 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Novo Nordisk$596
- Amgen$509
- Lilly USA, LLC$440
- AstraZeneca$308
- Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.$216
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$214
- plus $2K from 32 others
Across 65 payments — averaging $1678.90 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.
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.$78K
- Pfizer$31K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$4,20499%
- Education$611%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novo Nordisk | 32 | $596 |
| Amgen | 28 | $509 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 22 | $440 |
| AstraZeneca | 14 | $308 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | 16 | $216 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 3 | $214 |
| Pfizer | 8 | $187 |
| Bayer | 8 | $182 |
| ITI, Inc. (d/b/a Intra-cellular Therapies, Inc.) | 11 | $166 |
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 1 | $142 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 6 | $123 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 6 | $110 |
| Inari Medical, Inc. | 3 | $102 |
| Gilead | 4 | $99 |
| Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 11 | $89 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 4 | $88 |
| Mannkind Corporation | 3 | $72 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 4 | $64 |
| Novartis | 3 | $59 |
| CMP Pharma, Inc. | 2 | $52 |
| Exact Sciences | 2 | $44 |
| Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc | 2 | $34 |
| Organogenesis Inc. | 1 | $33 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 2 | $30 |
| Averitas Pharma Inc. | 1 | $28 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $27 |
| Cequr Corporation | 1 | $27 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $24 |
| Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Azurity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Recor Medical Inc | 1 | $22 |
| Antares Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 1 | $19 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Hologic Sales And Service, LLC | 1 | $18 |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Currax 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.
- OPTIMIZER$285
How this compares
$4,266 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 494 geriatric medicine providers in California.
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 | 538 | $205,334 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 155 | $86,580 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 86 | $85,315 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 112 | $50,372 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 52 | $46,120 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 92 | $45,123 |
| VascepaIcosapent Ethyl | 115 | $42,355 |
| Dexlansoprazole DrDexlansoprazole | 138 | $32,252 |
| RybelsusSemaglutide | 30 | $30,500 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 53 | $26,338 |
| NuedextaDextromethorphan Hbr/Quinidine | 28 | $21,747 |
| Basaglar Kwikpen U-100Insulin Glargine,hum.Rec.Anlog | 101 | $21,109 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 29 | $18,009 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 34 | $17,671 |
| DapagliflozinDapagliflozin Propanediol | 32 | $15,369 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $187 | $205,334538 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic, Rybelsus | $596 | $115,815116 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance, Tradjenta | $88 | $93,118178 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $64 | $50,372112 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $308 | $46,12052 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $59 | $26,33853 claims |
| Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Nuedexta | $23 | $21,74728 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCMounjaro | $440 | $14,43614 claims |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.Qvar Redihaler | $216 | $6,30422 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 90th percentile of 494 geriatric medicine providers in California.
Other geriatric medicine in Irvine
- Robert FeldmanLaguna Hills$1.2M
- Oscar ChienSan Gabriel$208K
- Anders NybergSan Diego$160K
- Paul AisenSan Diego$70K
- Wayne ChenLos Angeles$40K
- Vincent HoLancaster$32K
- Kathryn SewellSan Francisco$26K
- Stephen HenryPasadena$25K
- Chaewon SongGarden Grove$21K
- Douglas ZhangSan Leandro$20K
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.