Joseph Azzam, MD
Hospitalist · San Francisco, CANPI 1679078109
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 94.8% of the total across 104 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 12 manufacturers reported payments, led by AbbVie at 35.2% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $2,697, more than ten times the $80 reported in 2023. Among hospitalist clinicians in CA 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 104 payments — averaging $34.54 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$1K
- Amgen$750
- UCB, Inc.$531
- Johnson & Johnson$373
- Pfizer$259
- Sobi, Inc$183
- plus $231 from 6 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$3,40695%
- Education$1865%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVie | 41 | $1,265 |
| Amgen | 23 | $750 |
| UCB, Inc. | 14 | $531 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 5 | $373 |
| Pfizer | 11 | $259 |
| Sobi, Inc | 2 | $183 |
| Argenx US, Inc. | 3 | $80 |
| AstraZeneca | 1 | $34 |
| Fidia Pharma USA Inc. | 1 | $33 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 1 | $30 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 1 | $30 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 1 | $25 |
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
$3,592 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 2,469 hospitalist 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Colchicine | 16 | $1,009 |
| MethotrexateMethotrexate Sodium | 15 | $779 |
| Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate | 28 | $651 |
| Prednisone | 24 | $220 |
| Gabapentin | 16 | $210 |
| Naproxen | 16 | $80 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other hospitalist in San Francisco
- Robert WachterSan Francisco$75K
- Katharine YangSan Francisco$5K
- Jennifer SchneiderSanta Rosa$1.2M
- Soham ShahBakersfield$844K
- Alpesh AminOrange$428K
- Retha GoodglickSanta Monica$156K
- Steven WongTorrance$36K
- Edward LeeLos Angeles$30K
- Anjani KolahiOrange$30K
- Omar AldaasSan Diego$24K
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.