Kelly Liang
Nephrology · Pittsburgh, PANPI 1982676904
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 93.2% of the total across 4 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. Novartis accounts for 69.8% of it on its own, with 3 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $134 and has fallen 66.6% since, to $45 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for nephrology clinicians in PA, where the typical reported total is $612.
Across 4 payments — averaging $48.13 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Novartis$134
- Genentech USA, Inc.$29
- AstraZeneca$16
- Travere Therapeutics, Inc.$13
Across 26 payments — averaging $7978.46 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.
- Vertex$117K
- Novartis$48K
- Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc.$43K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$17993%
- Education$137%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novartis | 1 | $134 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 1 | $29 |
| AstraZeneca | 1 | $16 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $13 |
How this compares
$193 in reported general payments places this provider in the 25th percentile of 586 nephrology providers in Pennsylvania.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Calcitriol | 55 | $1,284 |
| Potassium Citrate ErPotassium Citrate | 15 | $878 |
| Midodrine Hcl | 16 | $255 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 23 | $185 |
| Nifedipine ErNifedipine | 12 | $185 |
| Losartan Potassium | 22 | $180 |
| Furosemide | 30 | $161 |
| Spironolactone | 18 | $142 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | 17 | $98 |
| Chlorthalidone | 16 | $88 |
| Lisinopril | 15 | $60 |
| Carvedilol | 14 | $44 |
| Hydrochlorothiazide | 22 | $41 |
| Allopurinol | 12 | $14 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other nephrology in Pittsburgh
- Christopher GislerPittsburgh$757K
- Khaled NasharPittsburgh$198K
- Swati AroraPittsburgh$190K
- Linda FriedPittsburgh$35K
- Cary ShiwarskiPittsburgh$15K
- Fadi LakkisPittsburgh$7K
- Nelson KopytAllentown$949K
- Rakesh GulatiPhiladelphia$657K
- Raymond TownsendPhiladelphia$357K
- Prince AnandDanville$331K
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.