Lowell Shih, MD
Pain Medicine · Covington, LANPI 1972846426
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $1,729 of the $2,879 with a category attached, or 60.1%. 8 manufacturers reported payments, led by Abbott at 35.8% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $1,177 and has fallen 86.8% since, to $155 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for pain medicine clinicians in LA, where the typical reported total is $3,650.
Across 83 payments — averaging $34.69 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abbott$1K
- Relievant Medsystems, Inc.$940
- Boston Scientific$708
- Nevro Corp.$74
- Medtronic$71
- Edwards Lifesciences$23
- plus $32 from 2 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,15040%
- Food & beverage$1,72960%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Abbott | 35 | $1,031 |
| Relievant Medsystems, Inc. | 11 | $940 |
| Boston Scientific | 27 | $708 |
| Nevro Corp. | 4 | $74 |
| Medtronic | 2 | $71 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $23 |
| SPR Therapeutics, Inc | 2 | $20 |
| Saluda Medical Americas, Inc. | 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.
- Intracept$3,278
- Axium INS DRG IPG$428
- SPECTRA WAVEWRITER$112
How this compares
$2,879 in reported general payments places this provider in the 40th percentile of 97 pain medicine providers in Louisiana.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 479 | $5,061 |
| Pregabalin | 327 | $3,100 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 129 | $3,030 |
| Gabapentin | 183 | $1,260 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 296 | $712 |
| Morphine Sulfate ErMorphine Sulfate | 11 | $327 |
| Tizanidine Hcl | 44 | $238 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 52 | $224 |
| Methocarbamol | 50 | $212 |
| Methylprednisolone | 16 | $96 |
| Diazepam | 21 | $17 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other pain medicine in Covington
- Nathan HarrisonCovington$5K
- Thomas MyersMandeville$118K
- Alan KayeNew Orleans$76K
- Derrick DeanTerrytown$68K
- Hazem EissaNew Orleans$50K
- Robert OwensNew Orleans$47K
- Gassan ChaibanLake Charles$30K
- Yashar EshraghiNew Orleans$22K
- Prathima AnandiShreveport$19K
- Jason GremillionBaton Rouge$19K
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.