Esther Cheng, MD
Otolaryngology · Cincinnati, OHNPI 1346667623
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — travel and lodging (46.5%), education and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 5 manufacturers reported payments, led by Intuitive Surgical at 47.7% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $3,237, 2.0 times the $1,604 reported in 2019.
Across 32 payments — averaging $207.40 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Intuitive Surgical$3K
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$2K
- Stryker$1K
- Intersect ENT, Inc.$430
- Sanofi$141
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$3,08546%
- Food & beverage$1,04816%
- Education$2,50038%
- Gifts$40%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Intuitive Surgical | 6 | $3,169 |
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 7 | $1,705 |
| Stryker | 10 | $1,192 |
| Intersect ENT, Inc. | 4 | $430 |
| Sanofi | 5 | $141 |
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.
- DAVINCI XI$2,500
- UNIVERSAL MID-FACE$990
- Da Vinci Surgical System$574
- PROPEL$397
How this compares
$6,637 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 380 otolaryngology providers in Ohio.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ipratropium Bromide | 50 | $1,460 |
| Azelastine Hcl | 41 | $946 |
| Triamcinolone Acetonide | 21 | $374 |
| Fluticasone Propionate | 22 | $274 |
| Amoxicillin-Clavulanate PotassAmoxicillin/Potassium Clav | 22 | $245 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 34 | $241 |
| Omeprazole | 13 | $130 |
| Methylprednisolone | 13 | $94 |
| Prednisone | 36 | $89 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 27 | $47 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other otolaryngology in Cincinnati
- Alexander DonathCincinnati$64K
- Katie PhillipsCincinnati$14K
- Aaron FriedmanCincinnati$13K
- Yash PatilCincinnati$11K
- Ahmad SedaghatCincinnati$9K
- Lee ZimmerCincinnati$5K
- Matthew HenslerCincinnati$5K
- Joseph HellmannCincinnati$5K
- Thomas TamiCincinnati$4K
- John StaffordCincinnati$4K
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.