John Steele, MD
Psychiatry · West Columbia, SCNPI 1942350616
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 99.7% of the total across 559 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 25 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 14.7% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. 2025 is the largest year on record at $1,897, 3.5 times the $545 reported in 2019. Among psychiatry clinicians in SC 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 559 payments — averaging $16.54 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Johnson & Johnson$1K
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$1K
- Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.$1K
- AbbVie$980
- ITI, Inc. (d/b/a Intra-cellular Therapies, Inc.)$772
- Alkermes, Inc.$763
- plus $3K from 19 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$9,222100%
- Education$260%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & Johnson | 72 | $1,360 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 70 | $1,237 |
| Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. | 64 | $1,235 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 112 | $980 |
| ITI, Inc. (d/b/a Intra-cellular Therapies, Inc.) | 39 | $772 |
| Alkermes, Inc. | 30 | $763 |
| Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 18 | $417 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 22 | $365 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | 26 | $331 |
| Bausch Health US, LLC | 14 | $297 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 19 | $288 |
| Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 13 | $248 |
| Eisai Inc. | 14 | $225 |
| Almatica Pharma LLC | 12 | $182 |
| Merck | 12 | $179 |
| Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 7 | $110 |
| Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. | 2 | $55 |
| Indivior Inc. | 4 | $50 |
| Ironshore Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $38 |
| Noven Therapeutics, LLC | 2 | $31 |
| Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc | 1 | $23 |
| Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Tris Pharma Inc | 1 | $17 |
| Aytu Biopharma, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Corium, LLC | 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.
- ARISTADA$912
- ARISTADA INITIO$228
- SPRAVATO$122
How this compares
$9,248 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 624 psychiatry providers in South 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Invega SustennaPaliperidone Palmitate | 92 | $243,085 |
| IngrezzaValbenazine Tosylate | 30 | $239,626 |
| Abilify MaintenaAripiprazole | 42 | $94,054 |
| Austedo XrDeutetrabenazine | 13 | $91,727 |
| RexultiBrexpiprazole | 55 | $83,505 |
| AristadaAripiprazole Lauroxil | 18 | $55,858 |
| VraylarCariprazine Hcl | 29 | $39,477 |
| TrintellixVortioxetine Hydrobromide | 48 | $24,278 |
| VyvanseLisdexamfetamine Dimesylate | 23 | $8,716 |
| Paliperidone ErPaliperidone | 54 | $5,301 |
| Venlafaxine Hcl ErVenlafaxine Hcl | 128 | $5,198 |
| BelsomraSuvorexant | 12 | $5,058 |
| Bupropion XlBupropion Hcl | 245 | $4,992 |
| Desvenlafaxine Succinate ErDesvenlafaxine Succinate | 58 | $4,175 |
| Fluphenazine Decanoate | 38 | $4,138 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & JohnsonInvega Sustenna | $1,360 | $243,08592 claims |
| Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.Ingrezza | $1,235 | $239,62630 claims |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.Abilify Maintena, Rexulti | $1,237 | $177,56097 claims |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.Austedo Xr | $331 | $91,72713 claims |
| Alkermes, Inc.Aristada | $763 | $55,85818 claims |
| AbbVieVraylar | $980 | $39,47729 claims |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.Trintellix, Vyvanse | $288 | $32,99471 claims |
| MerckBelsomra | $179 | $5,05812 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 624 psychiatry providers in South Carolina.
Other psychiatry in West Columbia
- Robert OrnelasWest Columbia$12K
- Brittany AlbrightMount Pleasant$691K
- Veronica RidpathFlorence$364K
- Jagdish ShahRock Hill$320K
- Ricardo FermoCharleston$262K
- John DewittAiken$221K
- Jeffrey StephensGreenville$195K
- Robert RichardsGreenville$142K
- Nikunjkumar ModiFlorence$133K
- Jacobo MintzerCharleston$132K
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.