L Erik Westerlund, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine · Columbus, GANPI 1407948052
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by consulting fees: $129,122 of the $201,605 with a category attached, or 64.0%. 22 manufacturers reported payments, led by Seaspine Orthopedics Corporation at 47.7% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $46,883 and has fallen 64.6% since, to $16,615 in 2025.
Across 253 payments — averaging $796.86 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Seaspine Orthopedics Corporation$96K
- Orthofix Medical, Inc.$51K
- Restor3d, Inc.$34K
- Globus Medical$13K
- Synthes GmbH$4K
- Boston Scientific$1K
- plus $3K from 16 others
Across 6 payments — averaging $826.67 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.
- Seaspine Orthopedics Corporation$5K
What the payments were for
- Royalty or licence$44,34822%
- Consulting fees$129,12264%
- Speaking & faculty fees$2,0001%
- Travel & lodging$19,67310%
- Food & beverage$5,4753%
- Education$9870%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Seaspine Orthopedics Corporation | 107 | $96,139 |
| Orthofix Medical, Inc. | 31 | $50,964 |
| Restor3d, Inc. | 31 | $34,296 |
| Globus Medical(2 entities) | 46 | $12,713 |
| Synthes GmbH | 4 | $3,583 |
| Boston Scientific | 8 | $1,111 |
| CGG Medical Inc | 2 | $1,024 |
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 6 | $1,020 |
| Stryker | 2 | $161 |
| Spineology Inc. | 1 | $104 |
| Nanovis LLC | 1 | $81 |
| Choice Spine, LLC | 1 | $71 |
| Biotronik NRO, Inc. | 1 | $63 |
| Bioventus LLC | 3 | $60 |
| Pacira Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $46 |
| Vericel Corporation | 1 | $39 |
| Illuminoss Medical, Inc. | 1 | $35 |
| Avanos Medical | 1 | $25 |
| Next Science LLC | 2 | $22 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $21 |
| Novo Nordisk | 1 | $14 |
| Smith+Nephew | 1 | $12 |
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.
- WaveForm TO$54,135
- Mariner$15,331
- Physio-Stim$14,098
- COHERE$9,332
- Mariner MIS$9,051
- Admiral$8,873
- Reef TO$6,851
- Regatta$4,190
- TLIF$3,448
- WaveForm TA$2,250
- Regatta Lateral System$2,125
- NorthStar$1,473
- Shoreline ASC$1,106
- Reef TA$1,003
- CONCORDE$922
- VIPER$922
- Vu aPOD Prime NanoMetalene$789
- NewPort$789
- 7D Surgical System$725
- Shoreline$724
How this compares
$201,605 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 57 orthopaedic surgery of the spine providers in Georgia.
See all orthopaedic surgery of the spine providers in Georgia →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 105 | $1,515 |
| Gabapentin | 220 | $1,327 |
| Celecoxib | 46 | $1,073 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 92 | $764 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 100 | $468 |
| Diclofenac Sodium | 19 | $245 |
| Methocarbamol | 28 | $221 |
| Methylprednisolone | 36 | $183 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 40 | $161 |
| Diazepam | 34 | $29 |
| Tamsulosin Hcl | 20 | $25 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other orthopaedic surgery of the spine in Columbus
- David GloysteinColumbus$51K
- Gilberto GomezColumbus$30K
- Todd BonvalletColumbus$27K
- Thomas WalshColumbus$35
- John HellerAtlanta$4.2M
- Scott BodenAtlanta$1.5M
- Justin BundyAugusta$1.4M
- John RheeAtlanta$1.1M
- Tapan DaftariAustell$759K
- Brad PrybisStockbridge$659K
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.