Joseph Forrester, MD
Surgery · Palo Alto, CANPI 1417247552
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (38.9%), education and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 8 manufacturers reported payments, led by Merck at 38.9% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $4,310, 2.7 times the $1,620 reported in 2019.
Across 41 payments — averaging $244.77 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Merck$4K
- Intuitive Surgical$3K
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$1K
- Zimmer Biomet$1K
- Kls-martin L.p.$980
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.$23
- plus $26 from 2 others
Across 2 payments — averaging $25,000 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.
- Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.$50K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$3,90039%
- Travel & lodging$1,85618%
- Food & beverage$1,08011%
- Education$3,20032%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Merck | 7 | $3,900 |
| Intuitive Surgical | 4 | $2,658 |
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 8 | $1,224 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 11 | $1,223 |
| Kls-martin L.p. | 8 | $980 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $18 |
| BTG International Inc. | 1 | $7 |
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.
- DAVINCI XI$2,500
- AdvantageRib$844
- MATRIXRIB$832
- ZIPFIX$832
- TSFS$832
- Da Vinci Surgical System$114
- Thoracic Reconstruction$110
How this compares
$10,036 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 2,363 surgery 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 |
|---|---|---|
| CeftriaxoneCeftriaxone Sodium | 17 | $3,828 |
| Neomycin Sulfate | 18 | $91 |
| Metronidazole | 18 | $19 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other surgery in Palo Alto
- Beemen KhalilPalo Alto$1.1M
- Micaela EsquivelPalo Alto$158K
- Timothy ChuterSan Francisco$8.8M
- Santiago HorganSan Diego$2.8M
- Rock LiuHayward$1.6M
- David LouriePasadena$1.4M
- Andrea PakulaThousand Oaks$1.4M
- Siew-Ming LeeFresno$1.3M
- John LiphamLos Angeles$942K
- Alexander NedopilLodi$682K
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.