Eric Lehr, PhD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Seattle, WANPI 1265693154
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (34.5%), travel and lodging and speaking fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 13 manufacturers reported payments, led by Atricure, Inc. at 53.2% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $22,339 and has fallen 62.2% since, to $8,447 in 2025. Among thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in WA with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 201 payments — averaging $356.97 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Atricure, Inc.$38K
- Medtronic$25K
- Boston Scientific$2K
- Medela AG$2K
- Edwards Lifesciences$1K
- Abbott$955
- plus $3K from 7 others
Across 158 payments — averaging $2832.03 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.
- Medtronic$228K
- Atricure, Inc.$115K
- Edwards Lifesciences$105K
- Artivion, Inc.$419
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$24,72534%
- Speaking & faculty fees$13,35019%
- Travel & lodging$24,34934%
- Food & beverage$9,24013%
- Education$870%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Atricure, Inc. | 64 | $38,138 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 69 | $24,755 |
| Boston Scientific | 14 | $2,431 |
| Medela AG | 1 | $1,500 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 21 | $1,447 |
| Abbott | 12 | $955 |
| Angiodynamics, Inc. | 3 | $935 |
| Invictus Surgical Incorporated | 4 | $840 |
| Abiomed | 7 | $382 |
| Arthrex | 3 | $303 |
| Corcym Inc | 1 | $28 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 1 | $21 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 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.
- SYNERGY ABLATION SYSTEM$23,732
- ATRICURE CRYOICE CRYOABLATION SYSTEM (CRYO2)$12,803
- Avalus$11,054
- EPI-SENSE GUIDED COAGULATION SYSTEM WITH VISITRAX$6,502
- Cardioblate$4,459
- Simulus$2,633
- CARDIOBLATE CRYOFLEX$2,400
- Penditure$2,167
- GENERAL - THERAPIES$1,814
- ATRICLIP LAA EXCLUSION SYSTEM$1,768
- Invia Motion Endure$1,500
- AlphaVac$700
- INSPIRIS RESILIA aortic valve$418
- CryoFlex$400
- AMPLATZER Occluders$381
- ATRICURE SYNERGY ABLATION SYSTEM$368
- Impella$255
- KONECT RESILIA$190
- THRUPORT SYSTEMS INTRACLUDE INTRA-AORTIC OCCLUSION DEVICE$175
- ISOLATOR SURGICAL ABLATION SYSTEM$170
How this compares
$71,751 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 105 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Washington.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Washington →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Chlorhexidine Gluconate | 16 | $70 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Seattle
- Glenn BarnhartSeattle$577K
- Eric VallieresSeattle$202K
- Thomas VargheseSeattle$22K
- Shakirat OyetunjiSeattle$21K
- Christopher BurkeSeattle$19K
- Mohamed EldeirySeattle$17K
- Ioannis John DemarakosSeattle$15K
- Peter WhiteSeattle$15K
- Joel SternbachSeattle$13K
- Adam BogradSeattle$13K
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.