David Friedrich, MD
Ophthalmology · Chattanooga, TNNPI 1841288131
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 96.0% of the total across 49 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 15 manufacturers reported payments, led by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. at 25.3% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $476 and has fallen 73.4% since, to $126 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for ophthalmology clinicians in TN, where the typical reported total is $1,443.
Across 49 payments — averaging $22.96 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.$285
- AbbVie$243
- Rxsight Inc$122
- Ivantis, Inc$94
- Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision, Inc.$60
- Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.$53
- plus $268 from 9 others
Across 6 payments — averaging $5400.00 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.
- Rxsight Inc$32K
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$262%
- Food & beverage$1,08096%
- Gifts$192%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 8 | $285 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 11 | $243 |
| Rxsight Inc | 6 | $122 |
| Ivantis, Inc | 2 | $94 |
| Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision, Inc. | 4 | $60 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 3 | $53 |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 3 | $48 |
| Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $37 |
| Sight Sciences, Inc. | 2 | $37 |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $31 |
| Glaukos Corporation | 2 | $26 |
| Dompe US, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec AG | 1 | $19 |
| Alcon | 1 | $19 |
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.
How this compares
$1,125 in reported general payments places this provider in the 45th percentile of 323 ophthalmology providers in Tennessee.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| LumiganBimatoprost | 194 | $53,924 |
| RestasisCyclosporine | 58 | $38,849 |
| RocklatanNetarsudil Mesylat/Latanoprost | 86 | $29,339 |
| CombiganBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 28 | $10,565 |
| Alphagan PBrimonidine Tartrate | 18 | $7,920 |
| Prednisolone Acetate | 131 | $6,177 |
| Travoprost | 28 | $4,516 |
| Cyclosporine | 16 | $4,279 |
| Ketorolac Tromethamine | 163 | $4,276 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 68 | $3,933 |
| Latanoprost | 320 | $2,704 |
| Ofloxacin | 115 | $2,228 |
| Timolol Maleate | 19 | $1,305 |
| Pilocarpine Hcl | 15 | $942 |
| Dorzolamide-TimololDorzolamide Hcl/Timolol Maleat | 57 | $840 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieLumigan, Restasis, Combigan, Alphagan P | $243 | $111,258298 claims |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Rocklatan | $31 | $29,33986 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 45th percentile of 323 ophthalmology providers in Tennessee.
Other ophthalmology in Chattanooga
- John BierlyChattanooga$16K
- Michelle RobisonChattanooga$7K
- Deborah di StefanoChattanooga$6K
- Courtney RidnerChattanooga$6K
- Deborah ShermanNashville$3M
- Melissa ToyosMemphis$1.3M
- Rolando ToyosMemphis$809K
- Brian BiesmanNashville$630K
- Brian FowlerMemphis$206K
- Edward ChaumNashville$158K
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.