Irfan Ali
Epilepsy · Houston, TXNPI 1154592921
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $3,941 of the $5,780 with a category attached, or 68.2%. 14 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 42.7% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $2,322 and has fallen 79.0% since, to $486 in 2025.
Across 132 payments — averaging $43.79 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$2K
- Neuropace, Inc.$2K
- DIXI Medical USA Corp$852
- Abbott$263
- Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.$108
- Nevro Corp.$74
- plus $243 from 8 others
Across 1 payment — averaging $6500.00 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.
- Neuropace, Inc.$7K
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,84032%
- Food & beverage$3,94168%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic(3 entities) | 98 | $2,466 |
| Neuropace, Inc. | 7 | $1,774 |
| DIXI Medical USA Corp | 1 | $852 |
| Abbott | 13 | $263 |
| Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $108 |
| Nevro Corp. | 4 | $74 |
| Neuronetics, Inc. | 1 | $64 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 1 | $55 |
| Si-bone, Inc. | 1 | $27 |
| Averitas Pharma Inc. | 1 | $27 |
| Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| AbbVie | 1 | $17 |
| Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
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.
- RNS System$1,614
- OSTEOCOOL RF ABLATION SYSTEM$560
- OSTEOCOOL RF ABLATION$220
- APTIOM$108
How this compares
$5,780 in reported general payments places this provider in the 70th percentile of 36 epilepsy providers in Texas.
Most prescribed under Part D
| Drug | Claims | Cost to plans & patients |
|---|---|---|
| Zonisamide | 20 | $292 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other epilepsy in Houston
- Bernhard SuterHouston$6K
- James RivielloHouston$3K
- Rohit KuruvillaHouston$2K
- Krystal SullyHouston$1K
- Stuti JoshiHouston$1K
- Adam DickeyHouston$824
- Yen TranHouston$818
- Ajlan AlshehriHouston$588
- Joshua CousinHouston$332
- Laura MastersHouston$272
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.