David Burnikel, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery · San Diego, CANPI 1457541369
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — education (47.4%), food and beverage and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 21 manufacturers reported payments, led by Arthrex at 47.0% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $4,580 and has fallen 93.9% since, to $279 in 2025.
Across 90 payments — averaging $124.07 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Arthrex$5K
- Elevate Surgical Co$1K
- Impactortho, Inc.$1K
- Stryker$1K
- Sportstek Medical, Inc$919
- Johnson & Johnson$380
- plus $1K from 15 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,79416%
- Food & beverage$4,07937%
- Education$5,29347%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Arthrex | 34 | $5,248 |
| Elevate Surgical Co | 7 | $1,299 |
| Impactortho, Inc. | 2 | $1,225 |
| Stryker | 13 | $1,049 |
| Sportstek Medical, Inc | 2 | $919 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 12 | $380 |
| Smith+Nephew | 4 | $164 |
| Acumed LLC | 1 | $144 |
| BREG, Inc | 1 | $123 |
| Pacira Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | 1 | $122 |
| Catalyst Orthoscience | 1 | $101 |
| Linvatec Corporation | 1 | $97 |
| Molnlycke Health Care US, LLC | 1 | $75 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 3 | $58 |
| Electronic Waveform Lab, Inc. | 1 | $36 |
| Fidia Pharma USA Inc. | 1 | $26 |
| Pacira Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Vericel Corporation | 1 | $21 |
| DJO, LLC | 1 | $20 |
| Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Medtronic | 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.
- AEQUALIS PERFORM REVERSED$164
- INSPACE$146
- ACUMED$144
- AEQUALIS PERFORM$124
- Breg$123
- EXPAREL$122
- PRO-DENSE$116
- VITOSS$105
How this compares
$11,166 in reported general payments places this provider in the 70th percentile of 1,808 orthopaedic surgery 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ondansetron OdtOndansetron | 13 | $167 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 31 | $152 |
| Meloxicam | 34 | $92 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other orthopaedic surgery in San Diego
- Peter NewtonSan Diego$4.2M
- Joseph JankiewiczSan Diego$2.6M
- Mark McBrideSan Diego$2.6M
- Bradford HackArcadia$18.3M
- Robert GorabOrange$13.6M
- Kelly VinceLos Angeles$9.6M
- Stephen HowellSacramento$9.4M
- Thomas CoonRed Bluff$9.2M
- Nirav AminPlacentia$5.6M
- Tom NorrisSan Francisco$5.3M
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.