RxDoctor Payments Data

Michael Acker, MD

Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Philadelphia, PANPI 1568494870

Payments from drug & device makers

What this record shows

This record is dominated by royalties or licence payments: $241,069 of the $271,181 with a category attached, or 88.9%. Edwards Lifesciences accounts for 99.4% of it on its own, with 7 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $241,177 and has fallen 93.9% since, to $14,694 in 2025. Among thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in PA 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.

$271,181in general payments, 2019–2025

Across 75 payments — averaging $3615.74 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.

  • Edwards Lifesciences$270K
  • Abbott$687
  • Artivion, Inc.$259
  • Medtronic$236
  • Corcym Inc$147
  • Abiomed$127
  • plus $205 from 2 others
$257,455in research payments, 2019–2025

Across 7 payments — averaging $36,779 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.

  • Vascular Graft Solutions Inc$253K
  • Medtronic$4K
$50,000in ownership & investment interests, 2019–2025

Across 6 payments — averaging $8333.33 each. An ownership or investment interest held by the physician or an immediate family member.

  • Access Vascular Inc$50K

What the payments were for

  • Royalty or licence$241,06989%
  • Consulting fees$19,2507%
  • Travel & lodging$7,9663%
  • Food & beverage$2,8961%

General payments by program year

19
20
21
22
23
24
25

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.

How this compares

$271,181 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 314 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Pennsylvania.

See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Pennsylvania

Medicare billing

Part B allowed, 2024
$400,464
Medicare patients
212
Services billed
525

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.

Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Philadelphia

See the full list for Pennsylvania

Where these figures come from

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