James Oates, MD
Rheumatology · Charleston, SCNPI 1831207885
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. 3 manufacturers reported payments, led by AbbVie at 38.6% of the total. That places this record below the midpoint for rheumatology clinicians in SC, where the typical reported total is $4,469.
Across 7 payments — averaging $47.34 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$128
- GSK$119
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$85
Across 23 payments — averaging $9725.35 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.
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$128K
- Amgen$82K
- GSK$13K
- Gilead$2K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$331100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVie | 5 | $128 |
| GSK | 1 | $119 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 1 | $85 |
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.
- BENLYSTA$119
How this compares
$331 in reported general payments places this provider in the 15th percentile of 123 rheumatology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab | 54 | $617,931 |
| Humira PenAdalimumab | 57 | $426,030 |
| StelaraUstekinumab | 20 | $325,919 |
| Enbrel SureclickEtanercept | 42 | $294,389 |
| Gamunex-CImmune Globul G/Gly/Iga Avg 46 | 25 | $225,116 |
| Orencia ClickjectAbatacept | 31 | $221,972 |
| Humira(Cf)Adalimumab | 19 | $165,509 |
| XeljanzTofacitinib Citrate | 22 | $109,532 |
| OtezlaApremilast | 12 | $59,139 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 33 | $17,846 |
| OtrexupMethotrexate/Pf | 13 | $9,910 |
| Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate | 185 | $8,843 |
| Mycophenolic AcidMycophenolate Sodium | 34 | $6,984 |
| Azathioprine | 30 | $3,370 |
| MethotrexateMethotrexate Sodium | 102 | $2,378 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Companies that both paid and supply prescribed drugs
These companies both reported payments to this provider and make drugs the provider prescribed under Medicare Part D in 2024. For most specialties this overlap is expected — a cardiologist who is paid by a cardiology drugmaker also treats heart disease. It is shown so the reader can see it, not because it implies anything on its own.
| Company | Paid to this provider | Part D cost of their drugs |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieHumira(Cf) | $128 | $165,50919 claims |
Reading this fairly. The Part D column is what drug plans and patients paid pharmacies — this provider received none of it, and it reflects how many patients they treat and what those drugs cost. Against peers, this provider's reported payments sit in the 15th percentile of 123 rheumatology providers in South Carolina.
Other rheumatology in Charleston
- Richard SilverCharleston$82K
- Deanna Baker FrostCharleston$43K
- Diane KamenCharleston$26K
- Gary GilkesonCharleston$16K
- Georgia RoaneCharleston$8K
- Erica AndersonCharleston$6K
- Colin EdgertonSummerville$3.5M
- Gregory NiemerSummerville$2.9M
- Gary FinkSummerville$2.9M
- Clarence LegertonSummerville$2.9M
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.