Fahed Bitar, MD
Interventional Cardiology · Covina, CANPI 1174728612
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (52.5%), speaking fees and consulting fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 51 manufacturers reported payments, led by E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. at 29.3% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $18,180 and has fallen 83.1% since, to $3,077 in 2025.
Across 962 payments — averaging $42.77 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$12K
- Novartis$8K
- AstraZeneca$3K
- Abbott$3K
- Abiomed$2K
- Edwards Lifesciences$2K
- plus $11K from 45 others
Across 1,240 payments — averaging $8102.63 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.
- Eli Lilly$4.3M
- Novartis$2.2M
- CSL Behring$1.2M
- Novo Nordisk AS$552K
- Modernatx, Inc.$519K
- American Regent$511K
- plus $844K from 10 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$7502%
- Speaking & faculty fees$18,40045%
- Food & beverage$21,62053%
- Education$3731%
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.
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.
- ELIQUIS$11,361
- ENTRESTO$5,547
- FARXIGA$2,725
- Xience Sierra Coronary Stent System$699
- Impella$687
- Dragonfly OCT$457
- Edwards SAPIEN 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve$389
- OPTIMIZER$347
- SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA$315
- Quadra Assura CRT Defibrillator$216
- ATRICLIP LAA EXCLUSION SYSTEM$180
- Mitra Clip system$175
- SYMPLICITY G3$167
- Shockwave IVL System with the Shockwave C2 Coronary IVL Catheter$160
- ACCOLADE SR$153
- Xience Sierra Coronary Stent$149
- Watchman$145
- WATCHMAN Access System$137
- CARDIOMEMS$133
- CAMZYOS$133
How this compares
$41,143 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 585 interventional cardiology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 381 | $403,824 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 183 | $168,433 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 94 | $95,388 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 73 | $70,304 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 32 | $33,432 |
| BrilintaTicagrelor | 48 | $28,795 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 25 | $21,333 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 16 | $13,499 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 324 | $7,583 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 491 | $6,253 |
| Ranolazine ErRanolazine | 56 | $5,385 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 606 | $5,188 |
| Ezetimibe | 169 | $3,693 |
| EdarbiAzilsartan Medoxomil | 11 | $2,673 |
| Carvedilol ErCarvedilol Phosphate | 12 | $2,531 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $1,512 | $403,824381 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $7,983 | $168,433183 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $506 | $95,38894 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $344 | $70,30473 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Brilinta | $3,285 | $62,22880 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $636 | $13,49916 claims |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Edarbi | $57 | $2,67311 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 80th percentile of 585 interventional cardiology providers in California.
Other interventional cardiology in Covina
- Matthew Pricela Jolla$2.3M
- Frederick St GoarMountain View$2.2M
- Saibal KarThousand Oaks$1.1M
- Rahul SharmaStanford$1M
- Puneet KhannaRancho Mirage$1M
- Dennis SheehanRedwood City$900K
- Suhail DohadBeverly Hills$802K
- Curtiss Stinisla Jolla$759K
- Christian SpiesBurlingame$719K
- Evan ZahnLos Angeles$632K
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.