Merritt Tolan, MD
Pain Medicine · Ladson, SCNPI 1013555671
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 98.2% of the total across 81 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 17 manufacturers reported payments, led by Forte Bio-pharma LLC at 47.4% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $1,730 and has fallen 95.4% since, to $79 in 2024. That places this record below the midpoint for pain medicine clinicians in SC, where the typical reported total is $2,431.
Across 81 payments — averaging $31.28 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Forte Bio-pharma LLC$1K
- Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$319
- Biodelivery Sciences International, Inc.$258
- Virtus Pharmaceuticals LLC$150
- Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.$122
- Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA$93
- plus $391 from 11 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$2,48898%
- Education$452%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Forte Bio-pharma LLC | 10 | $1,201 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 16 | $319 |
| Biodelivery Sciences International, Inc. | 11 | $258 |
| Virtus Pharmaceuticals LLC | 10 | $150 |
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 8 | $122 |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA | 6 | $93 |
| GRT US Holding, Inc. | 2 | $62 |
| AbbVie | 3 | $62 |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 4 | $55 |
| Emergent Biosolutions Inc. | 1 | $45 |
| Redhill Biopharma Inc. | 3 | $39 |
| Nevro Corp. | 1 | $31 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 2 | $28 |
| Vertex | 1 | $24 |
| GSK | 1 | $19 |
| Kaleo, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $13 |
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
$2,533 in reported general payments places this provider in the 50th percentile of 92 pain medicine providers in South 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.
Most prescribed under Part D
| Drug | Claims | Cost to plans & patients |
|---|---|---|
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 194 | $27,403 |
| Buprenorphine | 25 | $7,386 |
| Diclofenac Sodium | 15 | $6,815 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 183 | $5,046 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 141 | $2,956 |
| Gabapentin | 144 | $1,810 |
| Pregabalin | 61 | $1,587 |
| Lidocaine | 12 | $1,558 |
| Morphine Sulfate ErMorphine Sulfate | 40 | $906 |
| Duloxetine Hcl | 35 | $802 |
| Tizanidine Hcl | 55 | $663 |
| Baclofen | 28 | $442 |
| Clonazepam | 17 | $427 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 36 | $317 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 33 | $228 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USABuprenorphine | $93 | $7,38625 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 50th percentile of 92 pain medicine providers in South Carolina.
Other pain medicine in Ladson
- Tony OwensLadson$1K
- Phillip SmithGreenville$303K
- Richard KlineConway$104K
- Channing WilloughbyMurrells Inlet$82K
- Michael WarrickSumter$50K
- Daniel AtkinsonGreenville$36K
- Michael WardenFlorence$20K
- Andrew MendelsonCharleston$19K
- Sankeerth ChallagundlaColumbia$15K
- Kevin WalkerGreenville$14K
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.