Harold Minkowitz
Anesthesiology · Houston, TXNPI 1164506010
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (47.8%), consulting fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 16 manufacturers reported payments, led by Acelrx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. at 43.7% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $69,905 and has fallen 83.9% since, to $11,251 in 2025. Among anesthesiology clinicians in TX with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 234 payments — averaging $958.95 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Acelrx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$98K
- Acacia Pharma Inc$51K
- Heron Therapeutics, Inc.$33K
- Davol Inc.$8K
- Merck$7K
- Janssen Research & Development, LLC$7K
- plus $20K from 10 others
Across 14 payments — averaging $1155.83 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.
- Janssen Research & Development, LLC$6K
- Merck$6K
- Pfizer$4K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$82,51537%
- Speaking & faculty fees$107,18548%
- Travel & lodging$28,44413%
- Food & beverage$6,2403%
- Education$100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Acelrx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 107 | $98,078 |
| Acacia Pharma Inc | 49 | $51,185 |
| Heron Therapeutics, Inc. | 24 | $32,600 |
| Davol Inc. | 5 | $7,783 |
| Merck | 10 | $7,344 |
| Janssen Research & Development, LLC | 8 | $7,258 |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA | 1 | $5,940 |
| Cipla USA Inc. | 2 | $3,866 |
| Eli Lilly | 1 | $3,800 |
| AstraZeneca | 10 | $1,628 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $1,480 |
| Grifols Therapeutics LLC | 6 | $1,374 |
| Baudax Bio Inc. | 1 | $1,105 |
| Pacira Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | 7 | $470 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 1 | $400 |
| Vertex | 1 | $84 |
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
$224,394 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 3,899 anesthesiology providers in Texas.
Other anesthesiology in Houston
- Tong GanHouston$700K
- Gabriel MenaHouston$494K
- Eric ChanHouston$128K
- John ZakiHouston$109K
- Jamal HasoonHouston$56K
- Barbara OrlandoHouston$42K
- Byron BakerHouston$41K
- Javier LasalaHouston$17K
- Airat AgbetobaHouston$16K
- Karla SamaniegoHouston$15K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.