RxDoctor Payments Data

Frank Sellke, MD

Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Providence, RINPI 1457304859

Payments from drug & device makers

What this record shows

This record is dominated by consulting fees: $22,300 of the $27,282 with a category attached, or 81.7%. 8 manufacturers reported payments, led by AbbVie at 35.4% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $12,014 and has fallen 91.5% since, to $1,021 in 2025.

$27,282in general payments, 2019–2025

Across 58 payments — averaging $470.37 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.

  • AbbVie$10K
  • Stryker$9K
  • Edwards Lifesciences$6K
  • BD$1K
  • Medtronic$797
  • Abbott$276
  • plus $214 from 2 others
$35,018in research payments, 2019–2025

Across 28 payments — averaging $1250.66 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.

  • Octapharma USA, Inc.$27K
  • Livanova USA, Inc.$9K

What the payments were for

  • Consulting fees$22,30082%
  • Speaking & faculty fees$4502%
  • Travel & lodging$2,2908%
  • Food & beverage$2,2428%

General payments by program year

19
20
21
22
23
24
25

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.

CompanyPaymentsTotal
AbbVie6$9,667
Stryker9$8,512
Edwards Lifesciences14$6,444
BD7$1,371
Medtronic(2 entities)18$797
Abbott2$276
Terumo BCT, Inc.1$132
Davol Inc.1$82

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.

How this compares

Too few thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Rhode Islandto place this figure against a meaningful peer group, so we don't.

Medicare billing

Part B allowed, 2024
$88,765
Medicare patients
220
Services billed
241

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.

Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Providence

See the full list for Rhode Island

Where these figures come from

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