Jeffrey Houlton, MD
Otolaryngology · Charleston, SCNPI 1831351360
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by consulting fees: $8,750 of the $11,463 with a category attached, or 76.3%. Medical Device Business Services, Inc. accounts for 76.3% of it on its own, with 18 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $8,949 and has fallen 92.5% since, to $674 in 2025. Among otolaryngology clinicians in SC with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 44 payments — averaging $260.52 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$9K
- Stryker$871
- Acera Surgical, Inc.$375
- Baxter Healthcare$363
- Intuitive Surgical$302
- Smith+Nephew$198
- plus $604 from 13 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$8,75076%
- Travel & lodging$3193%
- Food & beverage$2,37421%
- Education$200%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 1 | $8,750 |
| Stryker | 7 | $871 |
| Acera Surgical, Inc. | 4 | $375 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 3 | $363 |
| Intuitive Surgical | 2 | $302 |
| Smith+Nephew | 7 | $198 |
| Forte Bio-pharma LLC | 4 | $91 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 2 | $83 |
| Kls-martin L.p. | 1 | $80 |
| KARL Storz Endoscopy-america | 1 | $54 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 1 | $50 |
| Polynovo North America LLC | 3 | $47 |
| Kerecis Limited | 2 | $40 |
| Straumann USA LLC | 1 | $37 |
| Merck | 1 | $32 |
| Ambu Inc. | 1 | $31 |
| Axogen | 1 | $25 |
| Sanara Medtech Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Tactile Systems Technology Inc | 1 | $14 |
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.
- ECHELON FLEX Stapler$8,750
- ENSEAL Product Family$8,750
- VSP RECONSTRUCTION$403
- VSP ORTHOGNATHIC$403
- Restrata Wound Matrix$307
- Da Vinci Surgical System$288
- SWITCHPOINT INFINITY, ISUITE$270
How this compares
$11,463 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 180 otolaryngology 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.
Other otolaryngology in Charleston
- Shaun NguyenCharleston$973K
- Rodney SchlosserCharleston$382K
- Zachary SolerCharleston$67K
- Eugene BrownCharleston$28K
- Jason NewmanCharleston$26K
- Joshua HornigCharleston$25K
- Ashli OrourkeCharleston$21K
- Alexandra KejnerCharleston$19K
- Evan GraboyesCharleston$18K
- Mohamed AbdelwahabCharleston$15K
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.