Mehdi Tavakoli Dastjerdi, MD
Ophthalmology · Washington, DCNPI 1437689478
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (58.0%), food and beverage and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Amgen accounts for 96.0% of it on its own, with 7 other manufacturers making up the rest. Among ophthalmology clinicians in DC with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 49 payments — averaging $246.42 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Amgen$12K
- Novartis$120
- Alcon$103
- Oyster Point Pharma, Inc.$75
- Genentech, Inc.$71
- Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$60
- plus $55 from 2 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$7,00058%
- Speaking & faculty fees$1,30511%
- Travel & lodging$1,33111%
- Food & beverage$2,43920%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amgen(2 entities) | 38 | $11,591 |
| Novartis | 1 | $120 |
| Alcon | 1 | $103 |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. | 4 | $75 |
| Genentech, Inc. | 1 | $71 |
| Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $60 |
| Dompe US, Inc. | 1 | $30 |
| Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation Inc. | 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.
How this compares
$12,075 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 74 ophthalmology providers in District of Columbia.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| ErythromycinErythromycin Base | 18 | $287 |
| Latanoprost | 11 | $122 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other ophthalmology in Washington
- Wiley ChambersWashington$618K
- Keesha Williams ElliottWashington$167K
- Samuel StopakWashington$33K
- Jonca BullWashington$30K
- Leslie JonesWashington$22K
- Alexander HacopianWashington$13K
- Andrew HammerWashington$11K
- Thandeka MyeniWashington$10K
- Dipak PanigrahiWashington$9K
- Jared EbertWashington$6K
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.