Fariba Zarinetchi, MD
Nephrology · Corpus Christi, TXNPI 1518960491
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 95.0% of the total across 65 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 15 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 20.2% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. 2025 is the largest year on record at $381, more than ten times the $16 reported in 2020. That places this record below the midpoint for nephrology clinicians in TX, where the typical reported total is $1,420.
Across 65 payments — averaging $19.65 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc.$258
- Amgen$215
- Bayer$189
- Novartis$145
- Vifor Pharma, Inc.$100
- Novo Nordisk$99
- plus $272 from 9 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$1,21395%
- Education$645%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 15 | $258 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 11 | $215 |
| Bayer | 9 | $189 |
| Novartis | 7 | $145 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 3 | $100 |
| Novo Nordisk | 5 | $99 |
| AstraZeneca | 4 | $67 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 2 | $36 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 2 | $34 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $28 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 2 | $27 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Sanofi | 1 | $23 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
How this compares
$1,277 in reported general payments places this provider in the 45th percentile of 1,070 nephrology providers in Texas.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 260 | $215,655 |
| FilspariSparsentan | 11 | $123,460 |
| VelphoroSucroferric Oxyhydroxide | 23 | $115,488 |
| XphozahTenapanor Hcl | 11 | $32,352 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 26 | $19,253 |
| OzempicSemaglutide | 17 | $16,773 |
| KerendiaFinerenone | 16 | $14,707 |
| VeltassaPatiromer Calcium Sorbitex | 17 | $14,338 |
| Sevelamer Carbonate | 71 | $12,183 |
| RetacritEpoetin Alfa-Epbx | 26 | $11,894 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 12 | $7,921 |
| Calcium Acetate | 75 | $5,308 |
| Tacrolimus | 19 | $2,892 |
| Labetalol Hcl | 41 | $1,345 |
| Losartan Potassium | 141 | $1,110 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $67 | $215,655260 claims |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc.Filspari | $36 | $123,46011 claims |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc.Velphoro | $27 | $115,48823 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $34 | $19,25326 claims |
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $99 | $16,77317 claims |
| BayerKerendia | $189 | $14,70716 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 45th percentile of 1,070 nephrology providers in Texas.
Other nephrology in Corpus Christi
- Abdul AbdellatifWebster$2.1M
- German HernandezEl Paso$1.3M
- Ankit MehtaDallas$1.1M
- Biff PalmerDallas$867K
- Gates ColbertDallas$828K
- Sreedhar MandayamHouston$752K
- Luis VelezSan Antonio$505K
- Anand ReddyOdessa$469K
- Christopher KwohHouston$467K
- Wolfgang WinkelmayerHouston$462K
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.