Jose Karam, MD
Urology · Houston, TXNPI 1902000797
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (53.1%), travel and lodging and speaking fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Pfizer accounts for 66.9% of it on its own, with 7 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $82,701 and has fallen 82.5% since, to $14,478 in 2025. Among urology clinicians in TX 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 58 payments — averaging $2310.39 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Pfizer$90K
- Merck$25K
- Telix Pharmaceuticals$12K
- Janssen Research & Development, LLC$3K
- Intuitive Surgical$3K
- Conmed Corporation$800
- plus $466 from 2 others
Across 142 payments — averaging $38,643 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.
- Merck$4.9M
- Genentech, Inc.$576K
- F. Hoffmann-la Roche AG$3K
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$1K
Across 4 payments — averaging $12,500 each. An ownership or investment interest held by the physician or an immediate family member.
- Valencia Technologies Corporation$50K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$71,18053%
- Speaking & faculty fees$14,39011%
- Travel & lodging$44,85833%
- Food & beverage$2,0742%
- Education$1,5001%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pfizer(2 entities) | 27 | $89,643 |
| Merck | 11 | $24,930 |
| Telix Pharmaceuticals | 5 | $12,109 |
| Janssen Research & Development, LLC | 1 | $3,100 |
| Intuitive Surgical | 9 | $2,955 |
| Conmed Corporation | 1 | $800 |
| Medtronic | 3 | $357 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $108 |
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.
- BAVENCIO$23,708
- SUTENT$11,350
- IBRANCE$4,608
- DA VINCI SP$1,859
- WELIREG$1,250
- Da Vinci Surgical System$957
- PIONEER/RANGER$800
- INLYTA$500
- INTERSTIM$279
- ECHELON FLEX Stapler$108
- Enseal X1 5mm$108
- Surgicel Powder$108
- EVICEL Fibrin Sealant (Human)$108
How this compares
$134,003 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 878 urology providers in Texas.
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.
Other urology in Houston
- Arun RaiHouston$920K
- Donald GriffithHouston$732K
- Jonathan Clavell HernandezHouston$500K
- Ashish KamatHouston$481K
- Mohit KheraHouston$428K
- Ricardo GonzalezHouston$314K
- Richard LinkHouston$261K
- Steven CanfieldHouston$256K
- Run WangHouston$195K
- Kathleen KobashiHouston$159K
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.