Leah Couture, MD
Hospice and Palliative Medicine · Baltimore, MDNPI 1801232046
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 21 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 8 manufacturers reported payments, led by AstraZeneca at 29.9% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $284, 3.0 times the $94 reported in 2023.
Across 21 payments — averaging $27.18 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$171
- Daiichi Sankyo Inc.$147
- Merck$98
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.$57
- Exelixis Inc.$32
- Pfizer$28
- plus $37 from 2 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$571100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZeneca | 6 | $171 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 5 | $147 |
| Merck | 4 | $98 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 2 | $57 |
| Exelixis Inc. | 1 | $32 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $28 |
| Eisai Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| G1 Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
How this compares
$571 in reported general payments places this provider in the 70th percentile of 35 hospice and palliative medicine providers in Maryland.
See all hospice and palliative medicine providers in Maryland →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| OxycontinOxycodone Hcl | 20 | $19,318 |
| Buprenorphine | 14 | $3,359 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 60 | $1,298 |
| Hydromorphone Hcl | 27 | $1,112 |
| Methadone Hcl | 36 | $994 |
| Morphine Sulfate ErMorphine Sulfate | 34 | $901 |
| Olanzapine | 16 | $237 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other hospice and palliative medicine in Baltimore
- Lee-Anne WestBaltimore$798
- Rachel NathanBaltimore$420
- Zhu WangBaltimore$340
- Jennifer EitingonBaltimore$144
- Danielle DobermanBaltimore$144
- Babatunde AjaniBaltimore$138
- Raya KheirbekBaltimore$99
- Ivy AkidBaltimore$60
- Masha RosenthalBaltimore$32
- Philip ShaheenBaltimore$28
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.