John Buenting, MD
Otolaryngology · Sylva, NCNPI 1285680066
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by consulting fees: $28,938 of the $29,746 with a category attached, or 97.3%. Stryker accounts for 98.7% of it on its own, with 8 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $12,693 and has fallen 99.3% since, to $87 in 2025. Among otolaryngology clinicians in NC with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 60 payments — averaging $495.77 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Stryker$29K
- Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.$119
- Aerin Medical Inc.$89
- Intersect ENT, Inc.$58
- Medtronic$26
- Organogenesis Inc.$25
- plus $56 from 3 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$28,93897%
- Food & beverage$8083%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Stryker | 40 | $29,373 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 6 | $119 |
| Aerin Medical Inc. | 6 | $89 |
| Intersect ENT, Inc. | 3 | $58 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $26 |
| Organogenesis Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Abbott | 1 | $24 |
| GSK | 1 | $20 |
| Smith+Nephew | 1 | $11 |
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.
- ENTELLUS - XPRESS ENT DILATION SYSTEM$16,000
- CLARIFIX CRYOTHERAPY DEVICE$12,663
- LATERA$4,863
- ORTHOMAP$4,713
- XPRESS ENT DILATION SYSTEM$3,278
- SHAVER SYSTEM$2,700
- SCOPIS ENT$1,200
- TGS GUIDEWIRE$450
How this compares
$29,746 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 362 otolaryngology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Azelastine Hcl | 154 | $3,604 |
| Ipratropium Bromide | 78 | $2,512 |
| Ciprofloxacin-DexamethasoneCiprofloxacin Hcl/Dexameth | 12 | $1,594 |
| Fluticasone Propionate | 109 | $1,097 |
| Mometasone Furoate | 11 | $797 |
| Montelukast Sodium | 71 | $579 |
| Famotidine | 66 | $540 |
| Levocetirizine Dihydrochloride | 39 | $383 |
| Doxycycline Hyclate | 31 | $362 |
| Amoxicillin-Clavulanate PotassAmoxicillin/Potassium Clav | 32 | $329 |
| Albuterol Sulfate HfaAlbuterol Sulfate | 14 | $316 |
| Amoxicillin | 44 | $267 |
| Sulfamethoxazole-TrimethoprimSulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim | 30 | $206 |
| Mupirocin | 17 | $182 |
| Azithromycin | 15 | $168 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other otolaryngology in Sylva
- Shawn KosnikSylva$20K
- David JangDurham$324K
- Robert FerrisRaleigh$258K
- Adam ZanationHickory$227K
- Brent SeniorChapel Hill$91K
- Charles EbertChapel Hill$57K
- Adam CampbellWinston Salem$47K
- Harold PillsburyChapel Hill$42K
- Brendan O ConnellCharlotte$28K
- Nicholas ThompsonChapel Hill$24K
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.