James Olson, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine · Reno, NVNPI 1659357580
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 32 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 19 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 19.0% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. 2025 is the largest year on record at $206, 7.2 times the $29 reported in 2019. That places this record below the midpoint for orthopaedic surgery of the spine clinicians in NV, where the typical reported total is $14,410.
Across 32 payments — averaging $23.58 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Providence Medical Technology, Inc.$144
- Vertex$123
- Si-bone, Inc.$114
- Medtronic$49
- Smith+Nephew$49
- Pfizer$39
- plus $238 from 13 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$755100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Providence Medical Technology, Inc. | 4 | $144 |
| Vertex | 4 | $123 |
| Si-bone, Inc. | 4 | $114 |
| Medtronic | 3 | $49 |
| Smith+Nephew | 2 | $49 |
| Pfizer | 2 | $39 |
| Amgen | 1 | $25 |
| Solventum Corporation | 1 | $24 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 1 | $21 |
| Surgalign Spine Technologies, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Cerapedics Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $20 |
| Mimedx Group, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Relievant Medsystems, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Convatec Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Stryker | 1 | $13 |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $12 |
How this compares
$755 in reported general payments places this provider in the 5th percentile of 30 orthopaedic surgery of the spine providers in Nevada.
See all orthopaedic surgery of the spine providers in Nevada →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 262 | $2,785 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 200 | $2,101 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 17 | $992 |
| Cephalexin | 15 | $398 |
| Gabapentin | 24 | $303 |
| Ibuprofen | 32 | $293 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 38 | $245 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 33 | $156 |
| Mupirocin | 35 | $152 |
| Naproxen | 24 | $138 |
| Methylprednisolone | 18 | $89 |
| Methocarbamol | 11 | $73 |
| Pregabalin | 14 | $72 |
| Meloxicam | 17 | $40 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other orthopaedic surgery of the spine in Reno
- John HalkiReno$129K
- David SingReno$109K
- Vadim GozReno$25K
- James RappaportReno$12K
- Phelps KipReno$96
- Kornelis PoelstraLas Vegas$2.2M
- George ElkanichLas Vegas$322K
- John ThalgottLas Vegas$320K
- Kevin SharifHenderson$262K
- Mark KabinsLas Vegas$118K
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.