Joseph Rathke, MD
Hospitalist · Baton Rouge, LANPI 1699003103
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 77 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 21 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 18.7% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $452 and has fallen 56.8% since, to $195 in 2025. Among hospitalist clinicians in LA 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 77 payments — averaging $19.15 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Johnson & Johnson$275
- Atricure, Inc.$195
- Pfizer$140
- Novartis$127
- Novo Nordisk$112
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$97
- plus $529 from 15 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$1,474100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & Johnson | 20 | $275 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 2 | $195 |
| Pfizer | 9 | $140 |
| Novartis | 7 | $127 |
| Novo Nordisk | 1 | $112 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 5 | $97 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 6 | $96 |
| Merck | 4 | $63 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 4 | $55 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 3 | $51 |
| Amgen | 2 | $38 |
| GSK | 3 | $35 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 2 | $33 |
| AbbVie | 2 | $32 |
| Smith+Nephew | 1 | $24 |
| Inari Medical, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| EUSA Pharma (US) LLC | 1 | $18 |
| Melinta Therapeutics, LLC | 1 | $15 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 1 | $12 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 1 | $11 |
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
$1,474 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 301 hospitalist providers in Louisiana.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amoxicillin-Clavulanate PotassAmoxicillin/Potassium Clav | 28 | $186 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 13 | $102 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 15 | $50 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 11 | $47 |
| Prednisone | 13 | $35 |
| Levofloxacin | 11 | $28 |
| Furosemide | 12 | $22 |
| Tamsulosin Hcl | 11 | $20 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other hospitalist in Baton Rouge
- David MickeyBaton Rouge$6K
- Haroon MujahidBaton Rouge$4K
- Robert CauseyBaton Rouge$2K
- Brandi FontenotBaton Rouge$2K
- Brian GouriBaton Rouge$2K
- Melanie McKnightBaton Rouge$2K
- Kevin DeanBaton Rouge$2K
- Brandon HoweBaton Rouge$2K
- Amy GiarrussoBaton Rouge$2K
- Joe Marie DizonBaton Rouge$2K
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.