Joel Trachtenberg, MD
Infectious Disease · Salt Lake City, UTNPI 1417972571
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 113 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 17 manufacturers reported payments, led by Merck at 26.2% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $782 and has fallen 95.4% since, to $36 in 2025.
Across 113 payments — averaging $14.71 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Merck$436
- Viiv Healthcare Company$401
- AbbVie$248
- Abbott$167
- Gilead$89
- Boston Scientific$58
- plus $263 from 11 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$1,663100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Merck | 33 | $436 |
| Viiv Healthcare Company | 20 | $401 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 21 | $248 |
| Abbott | 14 | $167 |
| Gilead | 4 | $89 |
| Boston Scientific | 4 | $58 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 3 | $44 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 3 | $43 |
| Ascensia Diabetes Care US Inc. | 2 | $40 |
| Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $26 |
| Novo Nordisk | 2 | $26 |
| Sequel Med Tech, LLC | 1 | $21 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $14 |
| Insmed, Inc. | 1 | $13 |
| Lifescan, Inc. | 1 | $12 |
| Amgen | 1 | $12 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $12 |
How this compares
$1,663 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 44 infectious disease providers in Utah.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| BiktarvyBictegrav/Emtricit/Tenofov Ala | 84 | $343,214 |
| DescovyEmtricitabine/Tenofov Alafenam | 40 | $111,237 |
| GenvoyaElviteg/Cob/Emtri/Tenof Alafen | 26 | $102,463 |
| OdefseyEmtricitab/Rilpiviri/Tenof Ala | 15 | $55,580 |
| JulucaDolutegravir/Rilpivirine | 12 | $40,366 |
| PrezcobixDarunavir/Cobicistat | 11 | $27,881 |
| Darunavir | 13 | $2,980 |
| Doxycycline Hyclate | 72 | $2,712 |
| Rifampin | 33 | $1,382 |
| Vancomycin Hcl | 36 | $1,214 |
| Ritonavir | 13 | $917 |
| Sodium Chloride0.9 % Sodium Chloride | 27 | $665 |
| Cephalexin | 24 | $596 |
| Gabapentin | 17 | $527 |
| Cefazolin Sodium | 21 | $368 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| GileadBiktarvy, Descovy, Genvoya | $89 | $556,914150 claims |
| Viiv Healthcare CompanyJuluca | $401 | $40,36612 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonPrezcobix | $12 | $27,88111 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 80th percentile of 44 infectious disease providers in Utah.
Other infectious disease in Salt Lake City
- William TettelbachSalt Lake City$82K
- Kimberly HansonSalt Lake City$22K
- Bert LopansriSalt Lake City$20K
- David ClassenSalt Lake City$14K
- Andrew SkinnerSalt Lake City$10K
- Adam SpivakSalt Lake City$5K
- Marquam OliverSalt Lake City$4K
- Emily Sydnor SpivakSalt Lake City$1K
- Sankar SwaminathanSalt Lake City$800
- Patricia Ruggeri-WeigelSalt Lake City$737
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.