Laura Altom, MD
Colon & Rectal Surgery · Raleigh, NCNPI 1144481409
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — travel and lodging (47.7%), food and beverage and education — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 17 manufacturers reported payments, led by Intuitive Surgical at 46.4% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $1,800 and has fallen 91.1% since, to $161 in 2025.
Across 43 payments — averaging $92.29 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Intuitive Surgical$2K
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$1K
- Johnson & Johnson$447
- Acell, Inc.$97
- Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.$77
- Baxter Healthcare$45
- plus $208 from 11 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,89248%
- Food & beverage$1,07627%
- Education$1,00025%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Intuitive Surgical | 10 | $1,843 |
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 6 | $1,252 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 10 | $447 |
| Acell, Inc. | 1 | $97 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | 2 | $77 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 2 | $45 |
| Medtronic | 2 | $41 |
| Merck | 1 | $22 |
| Covidien LP | 1 | $22 |
| Davol Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Integra Lifesciences Corporation | 1 | $20 |
| Biomerieux Inc | 1 | $17 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 1 | $17 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 1 | $15 |
| La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company | 1 | $14 |
| Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $12 |
| THD America, Inc. | 1 | $6 |
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.
- Da Vinci Surgical System$1,704
How this compares
$3,969 in reported general payments places this provider in the 55th percentile of 27 colon & rectal surgery providers in North Carolina.
See all colon & rectal surgery providers in North 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Neomycin Sulfate | 42 | $211 |
| Hydrocortisone | 15 | $181 |
| Metronidazole | 44 | $100 |
| Ondansetron Hcl | 29 | $43 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 11 | $18 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 11 | $9 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other colon & rectal surgery in Raleigh
- Edmund RutherfordRaleigh$272
- Richard SaleebyRaleigh$14
- Benny ChongConcord$32K
- Coen KlosHendersonville$14K
- Julie ThackerDurham$14K
- William LymanCharlotte$11K
- Joseph PayneWilmington$9K
- Stanley FullerWinston Salem$8K
- Bradley DavisCharlotte$7K
- Guillaume ChevrollierCharlotte$7K
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.