Lauren Blieden, MD
Ophthalmology · Houston, TXNPI 1023271582
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 443 payments — averaging $621.19 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Alcon$135K
- AbbVie$54K
- Alcon Research LLC$49K
- Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$22K
- NEW World Medical,inc.$10K
- Glaukos Corporation$2K
- plus $3K from 13 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$171,54762%
- Speaking & faculty fees$65,95624%
- Travel & lodging$12,0544%
- Food & beverage$25,6299%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Alcon | 127 | $135,251 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 135 | $53,815 |
| Alcon Research LLC | 21 | $49,303 |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 35 | $21,686 |
| NEW World Medical,inc. | 67 | $9,548 |
| Glaukos Corporation | 14 | $2,205 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 11 | $811 |
| Sight Sciences, Inc. | 10 | $719 |
| Heidelberg Engineering, Inc. | 1 | $500 |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 8 | $421 |
| Iridex Corporation | 4 | $395 |
| Ivantis, Inc | 1 | $127 |
| Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $123 |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $105 |
| Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision, Inc. | 2 | $73 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec USA, Inc. | 2 | $37 |
| Beaver-visitec International, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Thea Pharma Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. | 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.
- Hydrus Microstent$97,643
- Rocklatan$53,773
- Rhopressa$51,834
- Voyager DSLT$26,928
- DURYSTA$23,590
- XEN GLAUCOMA TREATMENT SYSTEM$22,329
- SIMBRINZA$16,901
- Ahmed Glaucoma Valve$7,295
- Kahook Dual Blade$7,295
- Clearpath$4,364
- Streamline$4,364
- Streamline Surgical System$2,152
- Via360$778
- iDoseTR$670
- Spectralis$500
- OMNI(R) SURGICAL SYSTEM (US)$432
- LUMIGAN$370
- iStent Infinite$337
- iStent inject W$312
- VYZULTA$251
How this compares
$275,186 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 1,355 ophthalmology providers in Texas.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| LumiganBimatoprost | 92 | $57,822 |
| RhopressaNetarsudil Mesylate | 92 | $52,442 |
| CombiganBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 49 | $27,526 |
| RocklatanNetarsudil Mesylat/Latanoprost | 39 | $24,549 |
| RestasisCyclosporine | 22 | $20,588 |
| Cyclosporine | 17 | $18,618 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 169 | $13,646 |
| Travoprost | 62 | $13,438 |
| Alphagan PBrimonidine Tartrate | 21 | $11,848 |
| SimbrinzaBrinzolamide/Brimonidine Tart | 35 | $11,375 |
| ZioptanTafluprost/Pf | 24 | $11,131 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate-TimololBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 43 | $9,269 |
| Brinzolamide | 37 | $7,605 |
| Latanoprost | 564 | $7,305 |
| Dorzolamide-TimololDorzolamide/Timolol/Pf | 46 | $7,138 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Companies that both paid and supply prescribed drugs
These companies both reported payments to this provider and make drugs the provider prescribed under Medicare Part D in 2024. For most specialties this overlap is expected — a cardiologist who is paid by a cardiology drugmaker also treats heart disease. It is shown so the reader can see it, not because it implies anything on its own.
| Company | Paid to this provider | Part D cost of their drugs |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieLumigan, Combigan, Restasis, Alphagan P | $53,815 | $117,785184 claims |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Rhopressa, Rocklatan | $21,686 | $76,990131 claims |
| AlconSimbrinza | $135,251 | $11,37535 claims |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.Vyzulta | $811 | $6,97714 claims |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLCLoteprednol Etabonate | $421 | $2,03720 claims |
Reading this fairly. The Part D column is what drug plans and patients paid pharmacies — this provider received none of it, and it reflects how many patients they treat and what those drugs cost. Against peers, this provider's reported payments sit in the 90th percentile of 1,355 ophthalmology providers in Texas.
Other ophthalmology in Houston
- David BrownHouston$51.7M
- John MichelettiHouston$3.3M
- Michael CaplanHouston$1.4M
- Shaheen KavoussiHouston$1.3M
- Kevin JongHouston$1.2M
- Stephen SladeHouston$1.2M
- Rosa TangHouston$1.1M
- Zaina Al-MohtasebHouston$1.1M
- Fiaz ZamanHouston$1M
- Stephen PflugfelderHouston$788K
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.