Emma Birks, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Lexington, KYNPI 1962730499
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
11 manufacturers reported payments, led by Abiomed at 50.4% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $1,913 and has fallen 91.1% since, to $171 in 2025.
Across 32 payments — averaging $114.41 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abiomed$2K
- Abbott$1K
- Paragonix Technologies, Inc.$160
- Cvrx, Inc.$138
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$93
- Novartis$43
- plus $102 from 5 others
Across 10 payments — averaging $2327.05 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.
- Abbott$23K
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$1,75048%
- Food & beverage$1,91152%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Abiomed | 4 | $1,846 |
| Abbott | 12 | $1,278 |
| Paragonix Technologies, Inc. | 3 | $160 |
| Cvrx, Inc. | 1 | $138 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 5 | $93 |
| Novartis | 2 | $43 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 1 | $33 |
| Briohealth Solutions, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Amgen | 1 | $17 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $11 |
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.
- Impella$1,750
- THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$603
- CARDIOMEMS$262
- HeartMate Touch$181
- Barostim Neo System$138
How this compares
$3,661 in reported general payments places this provider in the 55th percentile of 258 cardiovascular disease providers in Kentucky.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sandostatin Lar DepotOctreotide Acetate,mi-Spheres | 30 | $125,819 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 92 | $106,414 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 72 | $86,772 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 41 | $43,093 |
| DapagliflozinDapagliflozin Propanediol | 11 | $6,510 |
| Danazol | 17 | $6,093 |
| Bumetanide | 41 | $1,727 |
| Potassium Chloride | 43 | $1,560 |
| Warfarin Sodium | 180 | $1,333 |
| Amiodarone Hcl | 61 | $847 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 50 | $827 |
| Eplerenone | 12 | $781 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 88 | $727 |
| Spironolactone | 119 | $543 |
| Carvedilol | 71 | $450 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| NovartisSandostatin Lar Depot, Entresto | $43 | $232,233122 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 55th percentile of 258 cardiovascular disease providers in Kentucky.
Other cardiovascular disease in Lexington
- William SkinnerLexington$312K
- David MoliternoLexington$115K
- Andrew LeventhalLexington$43K
- John GurleyLexington$21K
- Suresh SharmaLexington$15K
- James CragerLexington$12K
- Kevin ScullyLexington$9K
- Nathan KustererLexington$8K
- Amir PirachaLouisville$530K
- Dinesh KalraLouisville$316K
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.