Johnny Altawil, MD
Internal Medicine · Knoxville, TNNPI 1841439270
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
22 manufacturers reported payments, led by Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. at 45.6% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $3,636 and has fallen 87.9% since, to $440 in 2025. Among internal medicine clinicians in TN 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 259 payments — averaging $28.06 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc.$3K
- AbbVie$2K
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.$514
- Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$350
- Pfizer$199
- Bristol Myers Squibb$140
- plus $765 from 16 others
Across 7 payments — averaging $2217.86 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.
- Ferring Pharmaceuticals AS$16K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$3,05042%
- Food & beverage$4,21758%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 17 | $3,313 |
| AbbVie | 119 | $1,986 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 31 | $514 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 23 | $350 |
| Pfizer | 14 | $199 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 10 | $140 |
| Nestle Healthcare Nutrition Inc. | 5 | $89 |
| Braintree Laboratories, Inc. | 3 | $86 |
| Merck | 6 | $84 |
| Gilead | 5 | $84 |
| Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 5 | $81 |
| Evoke Pharma, Inc. | 4 | $65 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 4 | $62 |
| Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc | 3 | $40 |
| Aimmune Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $33 |
| Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc | 1 | $27 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2 | $25 |
| UCB, Inc. | 2 | $22 |
| Novo Nordisk | 1 | $21 |
| AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Redhill Biopharma Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Amgen | 1 | $15 |
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.
- REBYOTA$3,050
How this compares
$7,267 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 2,216 internal medicine providers in Tennessee.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| LinzessLinaclotide | 68 | $54,568 |
| XifaxanRifaximin | 14 | $39,966 |
| Mesalamine | 16 | $14,433 |
| Sod Sulf-Potass Sulf-Mag SulfSodium, Potassium,mag Sulfates | 196 | $13,196 |
| Sucralfate | 74 | $8,318 |
| Colestipol Hcl | 70 | $6,620 |
| Esomeprazole Magnesium | 85 | $3,934 |
| SuflavePeg 3350/Sod Sulf,chlr/Pot/Mag | 34 | $3,918 |
| Ursodiol | 20 | $3,402 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 211 | $2,887 |
| Omeprazole | 228 | $2,413 |
| Balsalazide Disodium | 15 | $2,128 |
| CholestyramineCholestyramine (With Sugar) | 26 | $1,950 |
| Famotidine | 160 | $1,658 |
| LoperamideLoperamide Hcl | 18 | $955 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieLinzess | $1,986 | $54,56868 claims |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLCXifaxan | $350 | $39,96614 claims |
| Braintree Laboratories, Inc.Suflave | $86 | $3,91834 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 2,216 internal medicine providers in Tennessee.
Other internal medicine in Knoxville
- Dennis DeruelleKnoxville$263K
- Lewis HagoodKnoxville$143K
- Antonio RamosKnoxville$20K
- Michael CollierKnoxville$17K
- John AndersonNashville$1.5M
- Tracie WalkerJackson$488K
- Nathan TrenthamEtowah$404K
- Devin ShermanFranklin$191K
- Temidayo AbeNashville$113K
- Kenya KozawaSweetwater$86K
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.