RxDoctor Payments Data

Joerg Ermann, MD

Rheumatology · Boston, MANPI 1629197736

Payments from drug & device makers

What this record shows

This record is dominated by consulting fees: $68,151 of the $91,948 with a category attached, or 74.1%. 11 manufacturers reported payments, led by Eli Lilly at 27.4% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $42,329 and has fallen 91.7% since, to $3,517 in 2025. Among rheumatology clinicians in MA 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.

$91,948in general payments, 2019–2025

Across 72 payments — averaging $1277.05 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.

  • Eli Lilly$25K
  • Novartis$21K
  • Pfizer$17K
  • Johnson & Johnson$8K
  • UCB, Inc.$8K
  • UCB SA$6K
  • plus $7K from 5 others
$504,276in research payments, 2019–2025

Across 17 payments — averaging $29,663 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.

  • Boehringer Ingelheim$202K
  • Pfizer$150K
  • AbbVie$116K
  • Novartis$18K
  • Regeneron$15K
  • Novartis Pharma AG$2K

What the payments were for

  • Consulting fees$68,15174%
  • Speaking & faculty fees$16,12018%
  • Travel & lodging$5,5886%
  • Food & beverage$2,0872%
  • Education$10%

General payments by program year

19
20
21
22
24
25

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.

CompanyPaymentsTotal
Eli Lilly14$25,183
Novartis21$20,631
Pfizer7$17,035
Johnson & Johnson8$8,286
UCB, Inc.12$7,739
UCB SA2$6,140
Lilly USA, LLC2$4,026
Novartis Pharma AG1$1,515
Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC3$1,208
AstraZeneca1$125
AbbVie1$60

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

$91,948 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 265 rheumatology providers in Massachusetts.

See all rheumatology providers in Massachusetts

Medicare billing

Part B allowed, 2024
$20,264
Medicare patients
118
Services billed
231

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

DrugClaimsCost to plans & patients
Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab65$545,102
Taltz AutoinjectorIxekizumab29$190,695
RinvoqUpadacitinib29$177,924
Humira PenAdalimumab15$174,653
Cosentyx Sensoready (2 Pens)Secukinumab22$149,728
TremfyaGuselkumab11$146,623
Enbrel SureclickEtanercept15$111,653
ActemraTocilizumab13$64,539
Xeljanz XrTofacitinib Citrate12$61,384
Colchicine19$3,279
MethotrexateMethotrexate Sodium33$1,438
Leucovorin Calcium11$616
Celecoxib31$583
Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate30$581
Diclofenac Sodium35$543

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.

CompanyPaid to this providerPart D cost of their drugs
AbbVieRinvoq$60$177,92429 claims
Johnson & JohnsonTremfya$8,286$146,62311 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 265 rheumatology providers in Massachusetts.

Other rheumatology in Boston

See the full list for Massachusetts

Where these figures come from

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