Joseph Sowka
Optometrist · Venice, FLNPI 1629143938
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $83,813 of the $104,669 with a category attached, or 80.1%. Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. accounts for 70.0% of it on its own, with 24 other manufacturers making up the rest. Among optometrist clinicians in FL 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 184 payments — averaging $568.85 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.$73K
- Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$13K
- AbbVie$7K
- Glaukos Corporation$4K
- Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.$1K
- Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$1K
- plus $5K from 19 others
Across 10 payments — averaging $42.00 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.
- Notal Vision, Inc.$420
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$8,1758%
- Speaking & faculty fees$83,81380%
- Grants$1,9002%
- Travel & lodging$2,0662%
- Food & beverage$8,2138%
- Education$5020%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 64 | $73,251 |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 16 | $13,200 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 14 | $6,834 |
| Glaukos Corporation | 6 | $3,706 |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 12 | $1,434 |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $1,045 |
| Dompe US, Inc. | 10 | $678 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc. | 1 | $550 |
| Novartis | 9 | $504 |
| Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. | 5 | $499 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 7 | $404 |
| Sight Sciences, Inc. | 4 | $403 |
| Maculogix, Inc. | 4 | $391 |
| Alcon | 6 | $379 |
| Optovue, Inc. | 5 | $255 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $212 |
| Harrow Eye, LLC | 3 | $171 |
| Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $151 |
| Ivantis, Inc | 1 | $136 |
| Quidel Corporation | 2 | $132 |
| Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision, Inc. | 1 | $123 |
| Thea Pharma Inc. | 2 | $94 |
| Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. | 3 | $65 |
| Biotissue Holdings Inc. | 1 | $30 |
| Sanofi | 1 | $22 |
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.
- VYZULTA$75,767
- LOTEMAX SM$34,400
- LUMIGAN$5,132
- DEXTENZA$1,448
- MIEBO$1,070
- Rocklatan$1,002
- VUITY$1,000
- COMBIGAN$982
- CEQUA$948
- XIIDRA$947
- Rhopressa$900
- BLINK NUTRITEARS$600
- Humphrey FDT$550
- Humphrey HFA$550
- Humphrey Matrix 800$550
- ReSure Sealant$362
- AdaptDx$282
- Oxervate$240
- TearCare SmartLid$229
- TEARCARE(TM) (2.2) SYSTEM KIT$229
How this compares
$104,669 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 3,166 optometrist providers in Florida.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| RestasisCyclosporine | 18 | $22,195 |
| Latanoprost | 284 | $3,845 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate-TimololBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 24 | $3,407 |
| Travoprost | 17 | $3,271 |
| Doxycycline Hyclate | 16 | $2,167 |
| Dorzolamide-TimololDorzolamide Hcl/Timolol Maleat | 120 | $1,853 |
| Prednisolone Acetate | 43 | $1,324 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 42 | $1,314 |
| Timolol Maleate | 44 | $411 |
| Neomycin-Polymyxin-DexamethNeomycin/Polymyxin B/Dexametha | 36 | $380 |
| MoxifloxacinMoxifloxacin Hcl | 11 | $173 |
| Dorzolamide Hcl | 14 | $146 |
| Azithromycin | 17 | $88 |
| Cephalexin | 22 | $77 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieRestasis | $6,834 | $22,19518 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 95th percentile of 3,166 optometrist providers in Florida.
Other optometrist in Venice
- James HoffmanOrange Park$795K
- April JasperWest Palm Beach$553K
- Nora CothranLargo$505K
- Michael SluskyNorth Port$384K
- Katie SpearDefuniak Springs$361K
- Karen HoffmanOrange Park$282K
- Ashley RothMiami Beach$261K
- Jessica SteenDavie$256K
- Mark DunbarMiami$236K
- Robert DavisPembroke Pines$217K
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.