James Davies
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Birmingham, ALNPI 1629056544
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by consulting fees: $71,169 of the $99,473 with a category attached, or 71.5%. Edwards Lifesciences accounts for 67.5% of it on its own, with 8 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $38,316 and has fallen 97.5% since, to $965 in 2025. Among thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in AL 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 224 payments — averaging $444.08 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Edwards Lifesciences$67K
- Medtronic$23K
- Abbott$9K
- Zimmer Biomet$139
- Elutia, Inc.$135
- Baxter Healthcare$125
- plus $268 from 3 others
Across 55 payments — averaging $3261.82 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.
- Edwards Lifesciences$127K
- Abbott$52K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$71,16972%
- Speaking & faculty fees$5,0005%
- Travel & lodging$16,34616%
- Food & beverage$6,9597%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Edwards Lifesciences | 154 | $67,184 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 44 | $23,094 |
| Abbott | 20 | $8,529 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 1 | $139 |
| Elutia, Inc. | 1 | $135 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 1 | $125 |
| Artivion, Inc. | 1 | $119 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $119 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $30 |
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.
- Avalus$12,930
- Edwards SAPIEN 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve$9,578
- Edwards SAPIEN 3 Ultra Transcatheter Heart Valve$6,094
- CoreValve Evolut$5,238
- Mitra Clip system$4,311
- MitraClip System$3,500
- INSPIRIS RESILIA aortic valve$1,899
- Mosaic$1,828
- Hancock$1,027
- Simulus$563
- MitraClip$425
- EDWARDS INTUITY Elite valve system$401
- STERNALOCK BLU SYSTEM$139
- ECM Patch,Pouch$135
- FLOSEAL$125
- MITRIS RESILIA Mitral Valve$121
- ON-X AORTIC HEART VALVE WITH CONFORM-X SEWING RING AND EXTENDED HOLDER$119
- GENERAL - STRUCTURAL HEART$119
How this compares
$99,473 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 68 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Alabama.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Alabama →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oxycodone Hcl | 235 | $1,162 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 15 | $107 |
| Gabapentin | 14 | $90 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 34 | $75 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 17 | $69 |
| Furosemide | 11 | $23 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Birmingham
- Kyle EudaileyBirmingham$184K
- Carlton RandlemanBirmingham$161K
- Andrew PapoyBirmingham$63K
- Sara PereiraBirmingham$62K
- Panayotis VardasBirmingham$49K
- Clifton LewisBirmingham$47K
- Benjamin WeiBirmingham$18K
- Douglas MinnichBirmingham$10K
- John ThurberBirmingham$7K
- Sasha StillBirmingham$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.