Karukurichi Venkatesh, MD
Colon & Rectal Surgery · Gilbert, AZNPI 1891768677
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $1,543 of the $2,014 with a category attached, or 76.6%. It is spread thinly across 27 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 14.9% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $595 and has fallen 89.6% since, to $62 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for colon & rectal surgery clinicians in AZ, where the typical reported total is $5,787.
Across 93 payments — averaging $21.66 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.$299
- Merck$288
- Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$212
- Coloplast$211
- Braintree Laboratories, Inc.$160
- Zyla Life Sciences, Inc.$131
- plus $713 from 21 others
Across 62 payments — averaging $540.02 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.
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.$28K
- Shire North American Group Inc$6K
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$29915%
- Food & beverage$1,54377%
- Education$593%
- Gifts$1136%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 1 | $299 |
| Merck | 16 | $288 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 13 | $212 |
| Coloplast | 7 | $211 |
| Braintree Laboratories, Inc. | 8 | $160 |
| Zyla Life Sciences, Inc. | 13 | $131 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 4 | $72 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $56 |
| Smith+Nephew | 2 | $54 |
| KCI USA, Inc. | 3 | $52 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 3 | $50 |
| Intuitive Surgical | 2 | $48 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2 | $47 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 2 | $47 |
| Medtronic | 3 | $41 |
| Acacia Pharma Inc | 2 | $34 |
| Avanos Medical | 1 | $25 |
| Pacira Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | 1 | $24 |
| Baudax Bio Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Davol Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Solventum Corporation | 1 | $20 |
| Conmed Corporation | 1 | $20 |
| Mimedx Group, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Acell, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Innovation Technologies Inc | 1 | $18 |
| Axonics, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Acera Surgical, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
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
$2,014 in reported general payments places this provider in the 25th percentile of 50 colon & rectal surgery providers in Arizona.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| GattexTeduglutide | 22 | $971,056 |
| Mesalamine | 26 | $5,385 |
| Gavilyte-GPeg3350/Sod Sulf,bicarb,cl/Kcl | 311 | $4,857 |
| SutabSod Sulf/Pot Chloride/Mag Sulf | 25 | $4,123 |
| Balsalazide Disodium | 22 | $4,054 |
| Sod Sulf-Potass Sulf-Mag SulfSodium, Potassium,mag Sulfates | 59 | $3,955 |
| Peg 3350-ElectrolyteSodium Chloride/Nahco3/Kcl/Peg | 140 | $3,069 |
| Peg-3350 And ElectrolytesPeg3350/Sod Sulf,bicarb,cl/Kcl | 103 | $1,571 |
| Hydrocortisone | 75 | $1,215 |
| Amoxicillin-Clavulanate PotassAmoxicillin/Potassium Clav | 52 | $859 |
| CholestyramineCholestyramine (With Sugar) | 11 | $536 |
| Gavilyte-CPeg3350/Sod Sulf,bicarb,cl/Kcl | 33 | $468 |
| Fluticasone Propionate | 26 | $422 |
| Procto-Med HcHydrocortisone | 19 | $395 |
| Metronidazole | 62 | $228 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.Gattex | $72 | $971,05622 claims |
| Braintree Laboratories, Inc.Sutab | $160 | $4,12325 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 25th percentile of 50 colon & rectal surgery providers in Arizona.
Other colon & rectal surgery in Gilbert
- Krishna VenkateshGilbert$14K
- Mohamad AbdulhaiGilbert$11K
- Robert CampbellGilbert$4K
- Adatee OkonkwoGilbert$4K
- William CiroccoGilbert$1K
- David LarsonGilbert$117
- Deborah KellerScottsdale$195K
- Eugene KimPhoenix$189K
- Sushil PandeySurprise$125K
- Hekmat HakimanChandler$57K
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.