Melissa Spears, APRN
Psychiatric/Mental Health · Knoxville, TNNPI 1790911469
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $9,313 of the $11,842 with a category attached, or 78.6%. 24 manufacturers reported payments, led by Johnson & Johnson at 33.3% of the total. Among psychiatric/mental health clinicians in TN 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 402 payments — averaging $29.46 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Johnson & Johnson$4K
- ITI, Inc. (d/b/a Intra-cellular Therapies, Inc.)$2K
- Axsome Therapeutics, Inc.$985
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$752
- AbbVie$750
- Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.$656
- plus $3K from 18 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$2,48121%
- Food & beverage$9,31379%
- Education$490%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & Johnson | 40 | $3,943 |
| ITI, Inc. (d/b/a Intra-cellular Therapies, Inc.) | 51 | $1,503 |
| Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. | 42 | $985 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 38 | $752 |
| AbbVie | 38 | $750 |
| Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. | 22 | $656 |
| Corium, LLC | 23 | $569 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 26 | $476 |
| Tris Pharma Inc | 29 | $359 |
| Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 6 | $346 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | 13 | $259 |
| Almatica Pharma LLC | 20 | $206 |
| Ironshore Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 10 | $194 |
| Alkermes, Inc. | 10 | $184 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 15 | $182 |
| Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $125 |
| Merck | 5 | $118 |
| Noven Therapeutics, LLC | 3 | $71 |
| Neos Therapeutics, LP | 4 | $58 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 2 | $38 |
| Indivior Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc | 1 | $21 |
| Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Braeburn Inc. | 1 | $14 |
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
$11,842 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 1,167 psychiatric/mental health providers in Tennessee.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| SpravatoEsketamine Hcl | 12 | $38,073 |
| VraylarCariprazine Hcl | 21 | $29,769 |
| Dextroamphetamine-AmphetamineDextroamphetamine/Amphetamine | 53 | $1,773 |
| Methylphenidate Er (La)Methylphenidate Hcl | 11 | $1,374 |
| Dextroamphetamine-Amphet ErDextroamphetamine/Amphetamine | 31 | $919 |
| Bupropion XlBupropion Hcl | 33 | $795 |
| Clonazepam | 46 | $729 |
| Duloxetine Hcl | 18 | $441 |
| Buspirone Hcl | 30 | $395 |
| Oxcarbazepine | 14 | $372 |
| Venlafaxine Hcl ErVenlafaxine Hcl | 29 | $256 |
| Quetiapine Fumarate | 15 | $198 |
| Gabapentin | 22 | $188 |
| Trazodone Hcl | 19 | $187 |
| Alprazolam | 76 | $177 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Companies that both paid and supply prescribed drugs
These companies both reported payments to this provider and make drugs the provider prescribed under Medicare Part D in 2024. For most specialties this overlap is expected — a cardiologist who is paid by a cardiology drugmaker also treats heart disease. It is shown so the reader can see it, not because it implies anything on its own.
| Company | Paid to this provider | Part D cost of their drugs |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & JohnsonSpravato | $3,943 | $38,07312 claims |
| AbbVieVraylar | $750 | $29,76921 claims |
| Almatica Pharma LLCSertraline Hcl | $206 | $13122 claims |
Reading this fairly. The Part D column is what drug plans and patients paid pharmacies — this provider received none of it, and it reflects how many patients they treat and what those drugs cost. Against peers, this provider's reported payments sit in the 95th percentile of 1,167 psychiatric/mental health providers in Tennessee.
Other psychiatric/mental health in Knoxville
- Katherine SullivanKnoxville$17K
- Melissa McCarterKnoxville$13K
- Sarah LordKnoxville$10K
- Chenoa ShenandoahKnoxville$10K
- Sarah BannisterKnoxville$9K
- Brittani ArrowoodKnoxville$9K
- Lori HestandKnoxville$8K
- Lindsey WondoloskiKnoxville$8K
- Justin MynattKnoxville$8K
- Laura MelaroBolivar$682K
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.