Joel Pickett, MD
Neurological Surgery · Huntsville, ALNPI 1023019445
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by ownership interests: $57,408 of the $71,521 with a category attached, or 80.3%. North Alabama Surgical Services, LLC accounts for 80.3% of it on its own, with 17 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $58,163 and has fallen 82.6% since, to $10,117 in 2025. Among neurological surgery clinicians in AL 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 43 payments — averaging $1663.29 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- North Alabama Surgical Services, LLC$57K
- Curiteva, Inc.$12K
- Globus Medical$1K
- Providence Medical Technology, Inc.$225
- Arteriocyte Medical Systems, Inc.$92
- Prime Surgical, LLC$64
- plus $379 from 12 others
What the payments were for
- Royalty or licence$11,55716%
- Travel & lodging$9071%
- Food & beverage$1,6492%
- Ownership interest$57,40880%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| North Alabama Surgical Services, LLC | 1 | $57,408 |
| Curiteva, Inc. | 5 | $12,276 |
| Globus Medical(2 entities) | 10 | $1,076 |
| Providence Medical Technology, Inc. | 6 | $225 |
| Arteriocyte Medical Systems, Inc. | 2 | $92 |
| Prime Surgical, LLC | 2 | $64 |
| Orthofix Medical, Inc. | 3 | $63 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 3 | $61 |
| Stryker | 2 | $55 |
| Spinal Elements, Inc. | 1 | $38 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 1 | $28 |
| Integra Lifesciences Corporation | 1 | $25 |
| Abbott | 1 | $25 |
| Vertex | 1 | $25 |
| Aesculap, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 1 | $15 |
| Chiesi USA, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Wenzel Spine, 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.
How this compares
$71,521 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 97 neurological surgery providers in Alabama.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Methocarbamol | 174 | $1,339 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 67 | $759 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 79 | $732 |
| Methylprednisolone | 54 | $364 |
| Meloxicam | 69 | $210 |
| Levetiracetam | 16 | $190 |
| Diazepam | 23 | $12 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other neurological surgery in Huntsville
- John JohnsonHuntsville$250K
- Cheng TaoHuntsville$236K
- Jason BanksHuntsville$65K
- Sanat DixitHuntsville$5K
- Rhett MurrayHuntsville$4K
- Moneeb EhteshamHuntsville$3K
- Thomas OstergardHuntsville$2K
- Mark HadleyBirmingham$104K
- Andrew ErwoodBirmingham$85K
- Marshall HollandBirmingham$81K
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.