James Baker, MD
Hand Surgery · Edgewood, KYNPI 1588879860
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — education (36.7%), speaking fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Skeletal Dynamics Inc accounts for 69.7% of it on its own, with 8 other manufacturers making up the rest. Among hand surgery clinicians in KY 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 115 payments — averaging $348.75 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Skeletal Dynamics Inc$28K
- Stryker$7K
- Advanced Orthopaedic Solutions, Inc.$2K
- Zimmer Biomet$2K
- Anika Therapeutics, Inc.$705
- Johnson & Johnson$190
- plus $55 from 3 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$4001%
- Speaking & faculty fees$10,00025%
- Travel & lodging$8,34321%
- Food & beverage$6,64017%
- Education$14,72337%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Skeletal Dynamics Inc | 17 | $27,947 |
| Stryker | 72 | $7,495 |
| Advanced Orthopaedic Solutions, Inc. | 2 | $1,911 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 14 | $1,803 |
| Anika Therapeutics, Inc. | 4 | $705 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 3 | $190 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $21 |
| Axogen | 1 | $20 |
| Melinta Therapeutics, LLC | 1 | $15 |
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.
- Geminus$27,778
- Align$27,778
- IJS$27,778
- Implate$27,778
- AOS PRODUCTS$1,911
- TRIATHLON$870
- MAKO$739
- MAKOPLASTY$731
- TRITANIUM$505
- ATLAS$400
- T2$246
- Affixus$203
- Parcus Suture Anchors$145
- HemiCAP Wrist$142
- Persona$117
- STRATAFIX$115
- MONOCRYL$115
- DERMABOND PRINEO$115
How this compares
$40,106 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 56 hand surgery providers in Kentucky.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cephalexin | 237 | $803 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 157 | $325 |
| Clindamycin Hcl | 37 | $136 |
| Methylprednisolone | 27 | $106 |
| Meloxicam | 48 | $97 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 12 | $25 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other hand surgery in Edgewood
- Thomas DueEdgewood$141
- Amitava GuptaLouisville$175K
- Tuna OzyurekogluLouisville$25K
- Stephanie MerimeeLouisville$16K
- Luke RobinsonLouisville$12K
- Monica PecacheLouisville$11K
- Rodrigo Moreno GarciaLouisville$10K
- Maureen OshaughnessyLexington$8K
- Michelle PalazzoLouisville$7K
- Jorge Quintero PerezLouisville$7K
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.