Gareth Shemesh, MD
Pain Medicine · Wheat Ridge, CONPI 1619980620
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
20 manufacturers reported payments, led by Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC at 47.4% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $1,963 and has fallen 86.1% since, to $273 in 2025.
Across 135 payments — averaging $26.85 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$2K
- Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc.$366
- Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$300
- AbbVie$298
- Pfizer$177
- Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.$157
- plus $607 from 14 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$1,50041%
- Food & beverage$2,12559%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 16 | $1,719 |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 26 | $366 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 14 | $300 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 17 | $298 |
| Pfizer | 19 | $177 |
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 11 | $157 |
| Almatica Pharma LLC | 6 | $118 |
| Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 3 | $117 |
| Biodelivery Sciences International, Inc. | 6 | $74 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. | 3 | $61 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 2 | $38 |
| Vertex | 2 | $37 |
| Novartis | 2 | $32 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $24 |
| Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Pacira Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| IBSA Pharma Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Averitas Pharma Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Assertio Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 1 | $13 |
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.
- LUCEMYRA$1,500
- NURTEC ODT$123
How this compares
$3,625 in reported general payments places this provider in the 55th percentile of 96 pain medicine providers in Colorado.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| OxycontinOxycodone Hcl | 106 | $143,424 |
| Xtampza ErOxycodone Myristate | 49 | $75,807 |
| ZtlidoLidocaine | 18 | $23,141 |
| Buprenorphine | 58 | $15,257 |
| LicartDiclofenac Epolamine | 17 | $12,855 |
| GraliseGabapentin | 13 | $12,469 |
| MovantikNaloxegol Oxalate | 18 | $11,398 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 289 | $11,331 |
| NucyntaTapentadol Hcl | 11 | $10,408 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 428 | $10,264 |
| Morphine Sulfate ErMorphine Sulfate | 324 | $9,369 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 263 | $9,169 |
| Fentanyl | 55 | $8,780 |
| Lidocaine | 20 | $2,800 |
| Gabapentin | 174 | $2,511 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.Xtampza Er, Nucynta | $157 | $86,21660 claims |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc.Ztlido | $366 | $23,14118 claims |
| IBSA Pharma Inc.Licart | $19 | $12,85517 claims |
| Almatica Pharma LLCGralise | $118 | $12,46913 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 55th percentile of 96 pain medicine providers in Colorado.
Other pain medicine in Wheat Ridge
- Steven WrightWheat Ridge$18K
- Luke JohnsonWheat Ridge$6K
- Robert MoghimGolden$273K
- Jack RentzGreenwood Village$264K
- Donald BernardiniEnglewood$102K
- Haley BurkeAurora$55K
- Amar PatelThornton$47K
- David ColumbusLoveland$30K
- Matthew PouliotFort Collins$26K
- Justin MerkowEnglewood$24K
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.