Has John Ernst, MD received payments from drug or device companies?

Yes. Drug and device makers reported $614 in general payments to John Ernst, MD across 12 transactions between 2019–2025. Most Open Payments records nationally are meals worth under $20; a reported payment is not evidence of wrongdoing.

Does a payment mean John Ernst, MD did something wrong?

No. Federal law requires drug and device makers to report almost every transfer of value to a physician, including a $14 sandwich at a lunch presentation. Consulting fees, research funding and royalties to device inventors are ordinary, legal parts of medicine. This site reports what was disclosed; it makes no allegation.

Where does this information about John Ernst, MD come from?

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Payments come from Open Payments, published under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act. Billing and prescribing figures come from the Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners and Part D Prescriber public use files for 2024.

John Ernst, MD

Hand Surgery · Charleston, SCNPI 1619902905

Payments from drug & device makers

What this record shows

Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 12 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 7 manufacturers reported payments, led by Integra Lifesciences Corporation at 37.8% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $232 and has fallen 75.6% since, to $57 in 2024. That places this record below the midpoint for hand surgery clinicians in SC, where the typical reported total is $2,706.

$614in general payments, 2019–2025

Across 12 payments — averaging $51.21 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.

Integra Lifesciences Corporation$232
Axogen$125
Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc.$104
Exsomed Corporation$64
Johnson & Johnson$46
Endo USA, Inc.$22
plus $21 from 1 others

What the payments were for

Food & beverage$614100%

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
Integra Lifesciences Corporation	2	$232
Axogen	1	$125
Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc.	4	$104
Exsomed Corporation	1	$64
Johnson & Johnson(2 entities)	2	$46
Endo USA, Inc.	1	$22
ERMI LLC	1	$21

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

$614 in reported general payments places this provider in the 25th percentile of 47 hand surgery providers in South Carolina.

See all hand surgery providers in South Carolina →

Medicare billing

Part B allowed, 2024

$101,792

Medicare patients

235

Services billed

4,335

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
Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen	36	$168

Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.

Other hand surgery in Charleston

Dane DaleyCharleston$137K
Sarah YannascoliCharleston$8K
Charles DalyCharleston$3K
Kimberly YoungCharleston$3K
Reginald BrookerCharleston$1K
John MacilwaineCharleston$596
William MuirheadCharleston$398
James PriceMt Pleasant$24K
Jason DickherberSpartanburg$18K
Shea RayGreenville$13K

See the full list for South Carolina →

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.

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