Jeffrey Rutgard, MD
Ophthalmology · New Orleans, LANPI 1043699259
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 92.8% 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. 10 manufacturers reported payments, led by Glaukos Corporation at 36.7% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $867 and has fallen 93.0% since, to $60 in 2024. That places this record below the midpoint for ophthalmology clinicians in LA, where the typical reported total is $1,997.
Across 32 payments — averaging $61.52 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Glaukos Corporation$723
- Alcon$510
- AbbVie$361
- Amgen$117
- Rayner Intraocular Lenses Limited$50
- Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.$49
- plus $159 from 4 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$1,82693%
- Education$1437%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Glaukos Corporation | 10 | $723 |
| Alcon | 10 | $510 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 4 | $361 |
| Amgen | 1 | $117 |
| Rayner Intraocular Lenses Limited | 1 | $50 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 2 | $49 |
| Sight Sciences, Inc. | 1 | $48 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $48 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc. | 1 | $36 |
| NEW World Medical,inc. | 1 | $26 |
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.
- Hydrus Microstent$245
- iStent inject W$135
- Clareon$125
- TEPEZZA$117
- KXL System$116
- Photrexa$116
How this compares
$1,969 in reported general payments places this provider in the 45th percentile of 286 ophthalmology providers in Louisiana.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Latanoprost | 90 | $1,395 |
| Prednisolone Acetate | 48 | $1,359 |
| Dorzolamide-TimololDorzolamide Hcl/Timolol Maleat | 55 | $983 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 20 | $533 |
| Timolol Maleate | 22 | $220 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other ophthalmology in New Orleans
- Rebecca MetzingerNew Orleans$63K
- Ze ZhangNew Orleans$44K
- Peter KastlNew Orleans$32K
- Benjamin LeeNew Orleans$7K
- Glen CangelosiNew Orleans$6K
- Matthew BoltonNew Orleans$5K
- Barry LeaderNew Orleans$5K
- Blake WilliamsonBaton Rouge$443K
- Wyche ColemanShreveport$35K
- Bryan VekoviusShreveport$29K
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.