Kia Persaud
Rheumatology · North Myrtle Beach, SCNPI 1891256624
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 90.3% of the total across 44 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 9 manufacturers reported payments, led by Johnson & Johnson at 25.5% of the total. That places this record below the midpoint for rheumatology clinicians in SC, where the typical reported total is $4,469.
Across 44 payments — averaging $23.26 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Johnson & Johnson$261
- AbbVie$234
- Novartis$169
- Radius Health, Inc.$121
- Amgen$100
- UCB, Inc.$54
- plus $83 from 3 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$92490%
- Education$9910%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & Johnson | 9 | $261 |
| AbbVie | 11 | $234 |
| Novartis | 8 | $169 |
| Radius Health, Inc. | 5 | $121 |
| Amgen | 5 | $100 |
| UCB, Inc. | 2 | $54 |
| AstraZeneca | 2 | $48 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $21 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 1 | $14 |
How this compares
$1,023 in reported general payments places this provider in the 30th percentile of 123 rheumatology providers in South Carolina.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab | 20 | $154,968 |
| OrenciaAbatacept | 13 | $72,850 |
| Azathioprine | 22 | $4,419 |
| Mycophenolate Mofetil | 18 | $3,227 |
| Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate | 16 | $622 |
| MethotrexateMethotrexate Sodium | 45 | $473 |
| Prednisone | 37 | $134 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other rheumatology in North Myrtle Beach
- Colin EdgertonSummerville$3.5M
- Gregory NiemerSummerville$2.9M
- Gary FinkSummerville$2.9M
- Clarence LegertonSummerville$2.9M
- Jennifer MurphySummerville$2.8M
- William EdwardsSummerville$1.3M
- Alan BrownGreenville$947K
- Douglas ConawayMyrtle Beach$500K
- Long Huynh-DucGreenville$278K
- Robert KeenanFlorence$176K
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.