Howell Jones, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery · Beaufort, SCNPI 1841237138
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 7 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 5 manufacturers reported payments, led by Stryker at 44.7% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $164, 2.2 times the $73 reported in 2019. That places this record below the midpoint for orthopaedic surgery clinicians in SC, where the typical reported total is $2,843.
Across 7 payments — averaging $56.54 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Stryker$177
- Peerless Surgical Inc.$164
- Edwards Lifesciences$30
- Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc.$13
- Portola Pharmaceuticals, LLC$11
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$396100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Stryker | 2 | $177 |
| Peerless Surgical Inc. | 2 | $164 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $30 |
| Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $13 |
| Portola Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 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.
- TRIATHLON$117
How this compares
$396 in reported general payments places this provider in the 20th percentile of 325 orthopaedic surgery providers in South Carolina.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| ForteoTeriparatide | 13 | $55,799 |
| Celecoxib | 35 | $823 |
| Gabapentin | 65 | $561 |
| Diclofenac Sodium | 18 | $437 |
| Doxycycline Hyclate | 37 | $297 |
| Duloxetine Hcl | 19 | $264 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 52 | $210 |
| Naproxen | 11 | $197 |
| Hydromorphone Hcl | 30 | $111 |
| Amoxicillin | 87 | $96 |
| Methylprednisolone | 15 | $92 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 16 | $76 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 24 | $53 |
| Cephalexin | 14 | $41 |
| Clindamycin Hcl | 17 | $10 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other orthopaedic surgery in Beaufort
- Bryan CastroBeaufort$65K
- William SmithColumbia$7.7M
- Richard FrischMt Pleasant$1M
- Brent PonceCharleston$874K
- Chi LimSpartanburg$320K
- Todd LansfordNorth Charleston$286K
- Nicholas GrimaldiColumbia$203K
- Richard MarksWest Columbia$176K
- James LogingClinton$118K
- Justin SmithRock Hill$102K
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.