Maria Buitrago
Podiatrist · Houston, TXNPI 1972538197
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $8,292 of the $11,302 with a category attached, or 73.4%. It is spread thinly across 48 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 22.0%. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $4,846 and has fallen 60.2% since, to $1,927 in 2025.
Across 230 payments — averaging $49.14 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Stryker$2K
- Treace Medical Concepts, Inc.$1K
- Pylant Medical$1K
- Reapplix Inc.$769
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$668
- AbbVie$634
- plus $4K from 42 others
Across 3 payments — averaging $220.67 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.
- Axogen$662
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,81016%
- Food & beverage$8,29273%
- Education$1,20011%
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.
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.
- Lapiplasty System$1,087
- 3C Patch Kit - Box$721
- HOFFMANN$299
- DALVANCE$294
- VersaWrap$244
- DSUVIA$234
- EX-FIX$160
- TheraGenesis Wound Matrix$154
- EASY CLIP$154
- CHATTANOOGA$145
- FLOWTRIEVER CATHETER, S$140
- CT THROMBECTOMY SYSTEM KIT$140
- NUZYRA$125
- VARIAX$116
- Arsenal Sinus Support Plate$103
How this compares
$11,302 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 470 podiatrist 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ciclopirox | 28 | $892 |
| Ketoconazole | 35 | $455 |
| Gabapentin | 57 | $389 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 20 | $248 |
| Cephalexin | 15 | $119 |
| Methylprednisolone | 20 | $88 |
| Meloxicam | 16 | $60 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 25 | $58 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other podiatrist in Houston
- Gary LepowHouston$1M
- Andrew SchneiderHouston$150K
- Randall BeckmanHouston$103K
- Jason ArmstrongHouston$91K
- Jerry MilesHouston$58K
- Tina OliverHouston$42K
- Lawrence MactavishHouston$41K
- Roberto de Los SantosHouston$33K
- Randal LepowHouston$33K
- Ava WashkoHouston$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.