Christopher Sparrow, MD
Hospitalist · Saint Louis, MONPI 1457647810
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 95.2% of the total across 38 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 13 manufacturers reported payments, led by Abbott at 47.2% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $904 and has fallen 90.3% since, to $88 in 2025. Among hospitalist clinicians in MO 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 38 payments — averaging $62.47 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abbott$1K
- Abiomed$493
- Pfizer$138
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$129
- Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc.$126
- Boehringer Ingelheim$94
- plus $272 from 7 others
Across 29 payments — averaging $16,819 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.
- Endotronix, Inc.$384K
- Merck$51K
- Janssen Research & Development, LLC$38K
- Bayer$14K
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1135%
- Food & beverage$2,26195%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Abbott | 17 | $1,121 |
| Abiomed | 4 | $493 |
| Pfizer | 2 | $138 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 4 | $129 |
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 1 | $126 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 1 | $94 |
| Bayer | 1 | $63 |
| Merck | 1 | $48 |
| Livanova USA, Inc. | 2 | $45 |
| Endotronix, Inc. | 2 | $39 |
| United Therapeutics Corporation | 1 | $28 |
| Eurofins Viracor, LLC | 1 | $27 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $22 |
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.
- THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$524
- Impella$493
- OPTIMIZER$251
- CARDIOMEMS$134
- VYNDAQEL$125
How this compares
$2,374 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 712 hospitalist providers in Missouri.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| VyndamaxTafamidis | 61 | $1,954,544 |
| OpsumitMacitentan | 80 | $1,112,583 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 705 | $912,956 |
| UptraviSelexipag | 30 | $687,523 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 573 | $604,236 |
| Tyvaso DpiTreprostinil | 20 | $471,708 |
| AdempasRiociguat | 24 | $332,777 |
| CamzyosMavacamten | 38 | $299,340 |
| EliquisApixaban | 234 | $271,738 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 220 | $248,285 |
| RemodulinTreprostinil Sodium | 11 | $149,995 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 86 | $73,447 |
| Ambrisentan | 26 | $64,497 |
| VeltassaPatiromer Calcium Sorbitex | 39 | $39,734 |
| DapagliflozinDapagliflozin Propanediol | 17 | $18,180 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerVyndamax, Eliquis | $138 | $2,226,282295 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $94 | $604,236573 claims |
| BayerAdempas | $63 | $332,77724 claims |
| United Therapeutics CorporationRemodulin | $28 | $149,99511 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 712 hospitalist providers in Missouri.
Other hospitalist in Saint Louis
- Gian MusarraSaint Louis$25K
- Ghassan DaherSaint Louis$23K
- Marsha SchulteSaint Louis$23K
- Ijeoma NwelueSaint Louis$12K
- Arun MannemSaint Louis$6K
- Vasanthan KuppuswamySaint Louis$5K
- Yamuna KondapallySaint Louis$5K
- Basem AbdeenSaint Louis$4K
- John MwangiSaint Louis$4K
- Emily WoodSaint Louis$3K
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.