Joe Bernard, MD
Neurological Surgery · Charlotte, NCNPI 1851399687
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — royalties or licence payments (47.5%), consulting fees and speaking fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 29 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 48.9% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $50,330 and has fallen 71.4% since, to $14,390 in 2025.
Across 177 payments — averaging $573.15 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$50K
- Ischemaview, Inc.$14K
- Stryker$14K
- Penumbra, Inc.$12K
- Microvention, Inc.$6K
- Boston Scientific$2K
- plus $3K from 23 others
Across 28 payments — averaging $5745.81 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.
- Medtronic$138K
- Stryker$13K
- Microvention, Inc.$8K
- Viz.ai, Inc.$1K
What the payments were for
- Royalty or licence$48,20248%
- Consulting fees$27,35027%
- Speaking & faculty fees$14,10014%
- Travel & lodging$4,1324%
- Food & beverage$7,6648%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic(3 entities) | 28 | $49,648 |
| Ischemaview, Inc. | 2 | $14,100 |
| Stryker | 21 | $13,981 |
| Penumbra, Inc. | 24 | $12,349 |
| Microvention, Inc. | 16 | $6,482 |
| Boston Scientific | 40 | $1,643 |
| Silk Road Medical, Inc. | 6 | $871 |
| Imperative Care, Inc | 9 | $551 |
| Viz.ai, Inc. | 3 | $368 |
| Qapel Medical Inc | 2 | $303 |
| Kuros Biosciences USA, Inc | 1 | $159 |
| Globus Medical | 1 | $154 |
| Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. | 1 | $128 |
| Balt USA, LLC | 3 | $108 |
| Spine Wave, Inc. | 1 | $107 |
| Abbott | 3 | $63 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $61 |
| Relievant Medsystems, Inc. | 1 | $58 |
| Terumo Medical Corporation | 3 | $58 |
| Route 92 Medical, Inc. | 2 | $41 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 1 | $38 |
| Cerapedics Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Aesculap, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Heron Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Pacira Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | 1 | $22 |
| Integra Lifesciences Corporation | 1 | $21 |
| Intrinsic Therapeutics | 1 | $21 |
| Angiodynamics, Inc. | 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.
- VenaSeal$48,202
- Penumbra System$11,569
- SYNCHRO SELECT$9,000
- WEB Aneurysm Embolization System$4,676
- SURPASS EVOLVE$3,191
- WEB$968
- ENROUTE Transcarotid Neuroprotection System$712
- ENROUTE Transcarotid Stent System$712
- ENHANCE Transcarotid Peripheral Access Kit$712
- ENROUTE 0.014 Guidewire$712
- WaveWriter Alpha Prime 16$576
- Pipeline$424
- TARGET$400
- AXS CATALYST 7$400
- AXS VECTA 71$400
- TREVO$400
- ZOOM 88-T LARGE DISTAL PLATFORM$344
- RED 72$280
- Viz.AI LVO$198
- TA$185
How this compares
$101,448 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 196 neurological surgery providers in North 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 |
|---|---|---|
| BrilintaTicagrelor | 17 | $9,275 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 40 | $335 |
| Gabapentin | 28 | $311 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 12 | $116 |
| Methylprednisolone | 23 | $115 |
| Tizanidine Hcl | 15 | $82 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other neurological surgery in Charlotte
- Domagoj CoricCharlotte$2.3M
- Paul KimCharlotte$1.5M
- Matthew McGirtCharlotte$693K
- Tim AdamsonCharlotte$470K
- Michael BohlCharlotte$120K
- Vincent RossiCharlotte$104K
- Andrew HealyCharlotte$99K
- Anthony AsherCharlotte$93K
- Frederick FingerCharlotte$73K
- Joseph CheatleCharlotte$44K
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.