David Smith, MD
Pain Medicine · San Diego, CANPI 1811930357
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (58.3%), consulting fees and speaking fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 30 manufacturers reported payments, led by Southern Spine, LLC at 33.1% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $2,685 and has fallen 94.0% since, to $161 in 2025.
Across 92 payments — averaging $72.18 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Southern Spine, LLC$2K
- Medtronic$905
- Nevro Corp.$686
- Biotronik NRO, Inc.$592
- Vertiflex, Inc.$590
- Saol Therapeutics Inc.$568
- plus $1K from 24 others
Across 1 payment — averaging $3600.00 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.
- Vertiflex, Inc.$4K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$2,20033%
- Speaking & faculty fees$5689%
- Food & beverage$3,87258%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Southern Spine, LLC | 1 | $2,200 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 20 | $905 |
| Nevro Corp. | 20 | $686 |
| Biotronik NRO, Inc. | 6 | $592 |
| Vertiflex, Inc. | 10 | $590 |
| Saol Therapeutics Inc. | 1 | $568 |
| SPR Therapeutics, Inc | 4 | $202 |
| Forte Bio-pharma LLC | 2 | $165 |
| GRT US Holding, Inc. | 3 | $85 |
| Heron Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $84 |
| Boston Scientific | 3 | $62 |
| Stryker | 1 | $41 |
| Impactortho, Inc. | 1 | $41 |
| Nalu Medical, Inc. | 1 | $40 |
| Stimwave Technologies Incorporated | 3 | $37 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 1 | $34 |
| Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. | 1 | $34 |
| Zimvie Inc. | 1 | $34 |
| Tersera Therapeutics LLC | 1 | $29 |
| Spinal Simplicity, LLC | 1 | $24 |
| Globus Medical | 1 | $24 |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $23 |
| Vertos Medical, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $17 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 1 | $15 |
| AbbVie | 1 | $12 |
| Veran Medical Technologies, Inc. | 1 | $10 |
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.
- Senza Spinal Cord Stimulation System$403
- Superion ISS$345
- INTELLIS$312
- BIOTRONIK$290
- Prospera$263
- Prolate$147
- Nalocet$147
- SPRINT PNS System$137
- TARGETSTIM$137
How this compares
$6,641 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 840 pain 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Naloxone Hcl | 149 | $9,437 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 211 | $6,642 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 171 | $5,351 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 183 | $4,744 |
| Fentanyl | 22 | $2,598 |
| Morphine Sulfate ErMorphine Sulfate | 121 | $2,449 |
| Gabapentin | 227 | $2,184 |
| Lidocaine | 14 | $1,793 |
| Pregabalin | 76 | $1,698 |
| Tizanidine Hcl | 113 | $1,443 |
| Morphine Sulfate | 39 | $1,003 |
| Diclofenac Sodium | 40 | $925 |
| Baclofen | 51 | $905 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 62 | $896 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 53 | $760 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other pain medicine in San Diego
- Nathaniel SchusterSan Diego$337K
- Mark WallaceSan Diego$221K
- Gemayel LeeSan Diego$131K
- Jessica OswaldSan Diego$90K
- Zachary CohenSan Diego$36K
- Joel CastellanosSan Diego$30K
- David HillerSan Diego$30K
- Seth KatzenSan Diego$29K
- Jason PopeSanta Rosa$2.1M
- Ramana NaiduLarkspur$1.4M
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.