Joie Russo, MD
Obstetrics · Encino, CANPI 1619988532
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $5,996 of the $8,219 with a category attached, or 73.0%. 28 manufacturers reported payments, led by Mimedx Group, Inc. at 26.8% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $2,511, 4.8 times the $523 reported in 2019. Among obstetrics clinicians in CA 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 341 payments — averaging $24.10 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Mimedx Group, Inc.$2K
- AbbVie$2K
- Pfizer$752
- Therapeuticsmd, Inc.$488
- Exeltis, USA Inc.$437
- Mayne Pharma Commercial LLC$382
- plus $2K from 22 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$2,20027%
- Food & beverage$5,99673%
- Education$230%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mimedx Group, Inc. | 5 | $2,200 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 108 | $1,818 |
| Pfizer | 38 | $752 |
| Therapeuticsmd, Inc. | 27 | $488 |
| Exeltis, USA Inc. | 25 | $437 |
| Mayne Pharma Commercial LLC | 25 | $382 |
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc. | 15 | $330 |
| Myovant Sciences Inc. | 14 | $256 |
| Evofem Biosciences, Inc. | 15 | $219 |
| Avion Pharmaceuticals | 26 | $211 |
| Agile Therapeutics, Inc. | 11 | $179 |
| Hologic Sales And Service, LLC | 3 | $172 |
| Organon | 1 | $122 |
| Coopersurgical, Inc. | 2 | $102 |
| Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 3 | $64 |
| Bayer | 2 | $61 |
| Millicent US Inc | 3 | $59 |
| Myriad Women's Health, Inc. | 2 | $59 |
| Shield Therapeutics Inc | 3 | $55 |
| Lupin Inc. | 3 | $55 |
| Ascend Therapeutics US, LLC | 2 | $36 |
| Sage Therapeutics, LLC | 2 | $31 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $30 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 1 | $23 |
| AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Duchesnay USA Incorporated | 1 | $19 |
| Vertical Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 1 | $19 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $18 |
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.
- BOVINE COLLAGEN$400
- DALVANCE$135
- IMVEXXY$124
- ACESSA PROVU SYSTEM$120
- UBRELVY$104
How this compares
$8,219 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 119 obstetrics providers in California.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PremproEstrogen,con/M-Progest Acet | 15 | $6,151 |
| Estradiol (Twice Weekly)Estradiol | 40 | $4,004 |
| Estradiol | 75 | $3,939 |
| YuvafemEstradiol | 21 | $3,926 |
| Estradiol-Norethindrone AcetatEstradiol/Norethindrone Acet | 27 | $2,523 |
| Estradiol (Once Weekly)Estradiol | 18 | $1,680 |
| ProgesteroneProgesterone, Micronized | 30 | $933 |
| Nitrofurantoin Mono-MacroNitrofurantoin Monohyd/M-Cryst | 13 | $828 |
| DottiEstradiol | 11 | $704 |
| Clobetasol Propionate | 21 | $698 |
| JinteliNorethindrone Ac/Eth Estradiol | 13 | $427 |
| ValacyclovirValacyclovir Hcl | 12 | $378 |
| Acyclovir | 14 | $208 |
| Nystatin | 12 | $136 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerPrempro | $752 | $6,15115 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 119 obstetrics providers in California.
Other obstetrics in Encino
- Peter WangGarden Grove$428K
- Douglas Woelkersla Jolla$57K
- Richard FriedmanBurbank$18K
- Jennifer ByerSanta Rosa$17K
- Omar AzizEl Centro$14K
- Frederica LofquistSan Francisco$14K
- Craig SafferSan Diego$14K
- Caitlyn PainterSan Francisco$10K
- Kay DanielsStanford$9K
- Tiffany PerryOrinda$8K
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.