Karl Kern
Cardiovascular Disease · Tucson, AZNPI 1336248616
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (47.7%), speaking fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 13 manufacturers reported payments, led by Livanova USA, Inc. at 44.3% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $62,600 and has fallen 86.9% since, to $8,189 in 2025. Among cardiovascular disease clinicians in AZ 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 111 payments — averaging $1563.45 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Livanova USA, Inc.$77K
- C. R. Bard, Inc. & Subsidiaries$53K
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$25K
- Stryker$16K
- Medtronic$825
- Teleflex LLC$145
- plus $776 from 7 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$82,85048%
- Speaking & faculty fees$68,67440%
- Travel & lodging$19,19511%
- Food & beverage$2,8242%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Livanova USA, Inc. | 68 | $76,875 |
| C. R. Bard, Inc. & Subsidiaries | 3 | $53,100 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 10 | $25,486 |
| Stryker | 17 | $16,336 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 4 | $825 |
| Teleflex LLC | 1 | $145 |
| Novartis | 1 | $131 |
| Terumo Medical Corporation | 1 | $125 |
| Abiomed | 1 | $122 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 1 | $118 |
| Cardiovascular Systems Inc. | 1 | $118 |
| Abbott | 1 | $97 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 2 | $65 |
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.
- TandemLife$35,745
- LifeSPARC$29,719
- LifeVest$25,306
- LIFEPAK 15 MONITOR/DEFIBRILLATOR$15,385
- LifeSPARC System$9,314
- Resolute$800
- LUCAS 3$520
- Tandem Life Kit$477
- LUCAS$162
- GUIDELINER$145
- Tandem Heart Kit$133
- LEQVIO$131
- GlideWire$125
- Impella$122
- CARDIOFORM Septal Occluder$118
- Peripheral Orbital Atherectomy System$118
- Coronary Orbital Atherectomy System$118
How this compares
$173,543 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 423 cardiovascular disease providers in Arizona.
Other cardiovascular disease in Tucson
- Steven MottlTucson$340K
- Marvin SlepianTucson$106K
- Stephen AlgeoTucson$53K
- Monty MoralesTucson$39K
- Hoang ThaiTucson$30K
- Joshua BeverlyTucson$24K
- Paul FensterTucson$22K
- Gundeep SinghTucson$18K
- Rajen DesaiTucson$16K
- Paul BejaranoTucson$15K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.