Lewis Sulman, MD
Radiation Oncology · Durham, NCNPI 1922261171
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (51.1%), consulting fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Merck accounts for 63.4% of it on its own, with 6 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $35,520 and has fallen 98.9% since, to $405 in 2025. Among radiation oncology clinicians in NC with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 42 payments — averaging $1274.22 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Merck$34K
- Novocure Inc.$12K
- Servier Pharmaceuticals LLC$3K
- Blue Earth Diagnostics$2K
- Telix Pharmaceuticals$2K
- Elekta Instrument AB$279
- plus $26 from 1 others
Across 86 payments — averaging $44,425 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.
- Novartis$2.2M
- Novocure GmbH$1.5M
- Blue Earth Diagnostics$142K
- Novocure Israel Ltd$56K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$13,90326%
- Speaking & faculty fees$27,33851%
- Travel & lodging$10,57320%
- Food & beverage$1,4263%
- Entertainment$2791%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Merck | 20 | $33,944 |
| Novocure Inc. | 10 | $11,915 |
| Servier Pharmaceuticals LLC | 4 | $2,710 |
| Blue Earth Diagnostics | 1 | $2,338 |
| Telix Pharmaceuticals | 5 | $2,306 |
| Elekta Instrument AB | 1 | $279 |
| Novartis | 1 | $26 |
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.
- Oncology$11,711
- ILLUCCIX$4,300
- Axumin$2,338
- ELEKTA MEDICAL LINEAR ACCELERATOR$1,117
- Clarity$279
How this compares
$53,517 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 199 radiation oncology 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.
Other radiation oncology in Durham
- William LeeDurham$37K
- John KirkpatrickDurham$29K
- Brian CzitoDurham$28K
- David BrizelDurham$18K
- Pretesh PatelDurham$11K
- Christopher WillettDurham$8K
- Junzo ChinoDurham$3K
- Manisha PaltaDurham$3K
- Eugene VaiosDurham$2K
- Zachary ReitmanDurham$2K
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.