Kelly Nichols
Optometrist · Birmingham, ALNPI 1558327817
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (59.1%), speaking fees and royalties or licence payments — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. It is spread thinly across 20 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 19.6%. 2025 is the largest year on record at $54,910, 7.3 times the $7,565 reported in 2019. Among optometrist clinicians in AL 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 201 payments — averaging $1150.03 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Sight Sciences, Inc.$45K
- Alcon Research LLC$40K
- Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$38K
- Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.$22K
- AbbVie$19K
- Dompe US, Inc.$16K
- plus $51K from 14 others
Across 13 payments — averaging $5178.05 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.
- Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$55K
- Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision, Inc.$12K
- Novartis Pharma AG$750
What the payments were for
- Royalty or licence$26,31911%
- Consulting fees$136,54559%
- Speaking & faculty fees$59,75326%
- Travel & lodging$4,6512%
- Food & beverage$3,8872%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sight Sciences, Inc. | 43 | $45,370 |
| Alcon Research LLC | 7 | $40,069 |
| Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 24 | $37,568 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 26 | $22,317 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 22 | $18,941 |
| Dompe US, Inc. | 16 | $15,844 |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 3 | $11,147 |
| Topcon Healthcare, Inc. | 6 | $7,392 |
| Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 15 | $7,048 |
| Alcon | 7 | $6,558 |
| Novartis | 6 | $6,340 |
| Tearlab Corp | 4 | $3,340 |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. | 7 | $3,028 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 5 | $2,250 |
| Thea Pharma Inc. | 2 | $1,940 |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 3 | $1,560 |
| Topcon Corporation | 1 | $238 |
| Harrow Eye, LLC | 2 | $106 |
| Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. | 1 | $79 |
| Osmotica Pharmaceutical Corp. | 1 | $21 |
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.
- EYSUVIS$37,318
- TEARCARE SYSTEM$33,900
- CEQUA$11,112
- XIIDRA$7,744
- TearCare$7,477
- VUITY$4,900
- TearCare SmartLid$3,750
- TEARCARE(TM) (2.2) SYSTEM KIT$3,750
- Oxervate$3,300
- TYRVAYA$3,000
- TearLab Osmolarity System$2,250
- ScoutPro Osmolarity System$2,200
- XDEMVY$1,983
- MIEBO$1,844
- RESTASIS MULTIDOSE$1,350
- PHENTOLAMINE MESYLATE$1,000
- TRYPTYR$750
- INVELTYS$277
- Rhopressa$107
- Rocklatan$107
How this compares
$231,156 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 749 optometrist providers in Alabama.
Other optometrist in Birmingham
- Leo SemesBirmingham$60K
- Andrew PuckerBirmingham$27K
- Ashley SavageBirmingham$9K
- Ami EpsteinBirmingham$8K
- Caroline PateBirmingham$6K
- Casey BrownBirmingham$5K
- Valencia WellsBirmingham$5K
- Nicholas OnkenBirmingham$5K
- Mark SchaefferHoover$470K
- Benjamin KachelmanFlorence$101K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.