Joel Fernandez, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Tampa, FLNPI 1700829769
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $33,463 of the $38,357 with a category attached, or 87.2%. 17 manufacturers reported payments, led by Bayer at 47.0% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $23,575 and has fallen 98.3% since, to $399 in 2025. Among cardiovascular disease clinicians in FL 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 113 payments — averaging $339.44 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Bayer$18K
- United Therapeutics Corporation$11K
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$4K
- Pfizer$3K
- Abbott$2K
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.$383
- plus $613 from 11 others
Across 43 payments — averaging $7290.45 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.
- Endotronix, Inc.$127K
- Pfizer$73K
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.$27K
- Vifor (international) Ltd.$24K
- Novartis$22K
- Medtronic$16K
- plus $25K from 3 others
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$33,46387%
- Travel & lodging$6282%
- Food & beverage$4,03411%
- Education$2321%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bayer | 12 | $18,034 |
| United Therapeutics Corporation | 15 | $10,616 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 19 | $4,306 |
| Pfizer | 6 | $2,683 |
| Abbott | 42 | $1,721 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 4 | $383 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 5 | $268 |
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | 1 | $132 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $48 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 1 | $40 |
| Novartis | 1 | $26 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $21 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 1 | $19 |
| Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Itamar Medical Inc | 1 | $14 |
| Gilead | 1 | $13 |
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.
- Adempas$18,020
- ORENITRAM$7,053
- REMODULIN$6,912
- TYVASO$6,912
- LifeVest$3,750
- NONE$3,297
- VYNDAQEL$2,525
- CARDIOMEMS$504
- MitraClip System$274
- AMVUTTRA$135
- THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$133
- Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation System$132
- ONPATTRO$125
How this compares
$38,357 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 1,740 cardiovascular disease providers in Florida.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| VyndamaxTafamidis | 222 | $5,781,598 |
| OpsumitMacitentan | 69 | $846,946 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 255 | $381,992 |
| AdempasRiociguat | 24 | $327,684 |
| EliquisApixaban | 242 | $264,247 |
| VyndaqelTafamidis Meglumine | 12 | $251,908 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 158 | $188,830 |
| Orenitram ErTreprostinil Diolamine | 33 | $124,910 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 49 | $72,949 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 35 | $60,108 |
| Ambrisentan | 12 | $24,555 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 20 | $24,478 |
| CorlanorIvabradine Hcl | 12 | $19,110 |
| Sildenafil Citrate | 15 | $8,042 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 288 | $3,627 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Companies that both paid and supply prescribed drugs
These companies both reported payments to this provider and make drugs the provider prescribed under Medicare Part D in 2024. For most specialties this overlap is expected — a cardiologist who is paid by a cardiology drugmaker also treats heart disease. It is shown so the reader can see it, not because it implies anything on its own.
| Company | Paid to this provider | Part D cost of their drugs |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerVyndamax, Eliquis, Vyndaqel | $2,683 | $6,297,754476 claims |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.Opsumit | $40 | $846,94669 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $26 | $381,992255 claims |
| BayerAdempas | $18,034 | $327,68424 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $19 | $60,10835 claims |
Reading this fairly. The Part D column is what drug plans and patients paid pharmacies — this provider received none of it, and it reflects how many patients they treat and what those drugs cost. Against peers, this provider's reported payments sit in the 90th percentile of 1,740 cardiovascular disease providers in Florida.
Other cardiovascular disease in Tampa
- Hiram BezerraTampa$698K
- James SmithTampa$324K
- David WilsonTampa$258K
- Robby WuTampa$190K
- Jason FelibertiTampa$138K
- Samip VasaiwalaTampa$126K
- Kevin MakatiLutz$1.6M
- William OneillNaples$637K
- Theodore FeldmanMiami$637K
- John Gerald CantoLakeland$588K
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.