James Seale
Acute Care · Houston, TXNPI 1194313361
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $4,864 of the $6,776 with a category attached, or 71.8%. 19 manufacturers reported payments, led by Boston Scientific at 24.7% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $3,015, more than ten times the $53 reported in 2021. Among acute care clinicians in TX 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 134 payments — averaging $50.57 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Boston Scientific$2K
- Edwards Lifesciences$2K
- Amgen$1K
- Novartis$464
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$332
- Johnson & Johnson$239
- plus $1K from 13 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,87828%
- Food & beverage$4,86472%
- Education$351%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Scientific | 21 | $1,673 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 11 | $1,597 |
| Amgen | 16 | $1,164 |
| Novartis | 16 | $464 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 20 | $332 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2 | $239 |
| Abiomed | 5 | $234 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 10 | $220 |
| Biosense Webster, Inc. | 9 | $202 |
| Teleflex LLC | 9 | $170 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 1 | $125 |
| Cardiva Medical, Inc. | 3 | $68 |
| Endologix LLC | 2 | $66 |
| Cvrx, Inc. | 1 | $60 |
| Imperative Care, Inc | 2 | $57 |
| Chiesi USA, Inc. | 3 | $53 |
| Vapotherm Inc | 1 | $19 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $18 |
| Merck | 1 | $17 |
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.
- WATCHMAN FLX$1,281
- Repatha$373
- XARELTO$239
- Edwards SAPIEN 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve$150
- UPTRAVI$125
- OPSUMIT$125
How this compares
$6,776 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 2,323 acute care providers in Texas.
Most prescribed under Part D
| Drug | Claims | Cost to plans & patients |
|---|---|---|
| BrilintaTicagrelor | 12 | $5,474 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 62 | $622 |
| Minocycline Hcl | 38 | $223 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other acute care in Houston
- Afton DickersonHouston$27K
- Eleanor WeltgeHouston$25K
- Michelle JohnstonHouston$18K
- Amanda BergeronHouston$12K
- Nicole OnaHouston$12K
- Prashanth AnumandlaHouston$12K
- Ken ChanHouston$11K
- Brittney RichardHouston$11K
- Antonio Paolo AlmacenHouston$11K
- Laura WuesteHouston$11K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.