Frank Schwender, MD
Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology · Bowling Green, KYNPI 1700098290
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $11,970 of the $16,264 with a category attached, or 73.6%. Merck accounts for 86.7% of it on its own, with 18 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $11,428 and has fallen 99.8% since, to $21 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for clinical cardiac electrophysiology clinicians in KY, where the typical reported total is $16,637.
Across 172 payments — averaging $94.56 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Merck$14K
- Johnson & Johnson$416
- Novartis$387
- Pfizer$338
- Biotronik Inc.$231
- AstraZeneca$145
- plus $643 from 13 others
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$11,97074%
- Travel & lodging$1,4749%
- Food & beverage$2,81917%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Merck | 36 | $14,103 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 36 | $416 |
| Novartis | 21 | $387 |
| Pfizer | 19 | $338 |
| Biotronik Inc. | 10 | $231 |
| AstraZeneca | 10 | $145 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 8 | $133 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 7 | $126 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 8 | $107 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 6 | $102 |
| Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $56 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 1 | $16 |
| Infobionic, Inc | 1 | $16 |
| Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $14 |
| Altathera Pharmaceuticals LLC | 1 | $12 |
| Elutia, Inc. | 1 | $12 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 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.
- VERQUVO$24,137
How this compares
$16,264 in reported general payments places this provider in the 45th percentile of 57 clinical cardiac electrophysiology providers in Kentucky.
See all clinical cardiac electrophysiology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 534 | $397,103 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 357 | $261,788 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 285 | $231,711 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 323 | $199,686 |
| VerquvoVericiguat | 161 | $136,152 |
| MultaqDronedarone Hcl | 121 | $130,856 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 56 | $45,913 |
| BrilintaTicagrelor | 72 | $43,816 |
| DapagliflozinDapagliflozin Propanediol | 27 | $14,508 |
| CorlanorIvabradine Hcl | 15 | $8,723 |
| Dofetilide | 13 | $6,568 |
| Varenicline Tartrate | 28 | $5,545 |
| Amiodarone Hcl | 278 | $3,803 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 506 | $3,575 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 383 | $2,209 |
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 | $338 | $397,103534 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Brilinta | $145 | $305,604429 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $416 | $231,711285 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $387 | $199,686323 claims |
| MerckVerquvo | $14,103 | $136,152161 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCMultaq | $102 | $130,856121 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $16 | $45,91356 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 57 clinical cardiac electrophysiology providers in Kentucky.
Other clinical cardiac electrophysiology in Bowling Green
- Charles LinBowling Green$19K
- Sandeep GautamBowling Green$15K
- Arshad Muhammad IqbalBowling Green$12K
- Johan AasboLexington$451K
- Rajdeep GaitondeLouisville$404K
- Jeffrey StidamLouisville$196K
- Gery TomassoniLexington$196K
- Kent MorrisLouisville$187K
- John LeeLexington$139K
- Joseph SouzaLexington$110K
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.