Michael Istfan, MD
Rheumatology · South Charleston, WVNPI 1386650760
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 1,467 payments — averaging $17.16 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Amgen$7K
- AbbVie$4K
- UCB, Inc.$2K
- Johnson & Johnson$2K
- Pfizer$2K
- AstraZeneca$2K
- plus $7K from 20 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$24,90999%
- Education$2721%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amgen(2 entities) | 446 | $6,509 |
| AbbVie | 173 | $4,027 |
| UCB, Inc. | 151 | $2,240 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 113 | $2,153 |
| Pfizer | 143 | $1,919 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 43 | $1,556 |
| Novartis | 97 | $1,223 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 63 | $1,108 |
| GSK | 44 | $980 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 25 | $560 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 18 | $491 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 33 | $489 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 23 | $394 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 16 | $311 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 12 | $280 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 18 | $229 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 15 | $181 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 17 | $169 |
| Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC | 3 | $155 |
| Sanofi | 4 | $64 |
| Pacira Therapeutics, Inc. | 2 | $36 |
| Radius Health, Inc. | 2 | $29 |
| Organon | 3 | $27 |
| Sandoz | 1 | $17 |
| Medexus Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. | 1 | $16 |
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
$25,181 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 26 rheumatology providers in West Virginia.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Enbrel SureclickEtanercept | 65 | $542,237 |
| Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab | 34 | $281,713 |
| PanzygaImmun Glob G(Igg)-Ifas/Glycine | 15 | $198,260 |
| Cosentyx Sensoready (2 Pens)Secukinumab | 15 | $177,231 |
| OtezlaApremilast | 20 | $134,338 |
| Xeljanz XrTofacitinib Citrate | 11 | $128,088 |
| Cosentyx Sensoready PenSecukinumab | 11 | $98,325 |
| Taltz AutoinjectorIxekizumab | 14 | $96,098 |
| OrenciaAbatacept | 13 | $69,205 |
| Cimzia (2 Pack)Certolizumab Pegol | 12 | $67,532 |
| RidauraAuranofin | 17 | $41,929 |
| Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate | 734 | $26,291 |
| MethotrexateMethotrexate Sodium | 564 | $8,912 |
| Leflunomide | 134 | $5,234 |
| Prednisone | 797 | $4,046 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerPanzyga | $1,919 | $198,26015 claims |
| AmgenOtezla | $6,509 | $134,33820 claims |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.Orencia | $489 | $69,20513 claims |
| UCB, Inc.Cimzia (2 Pack) | $2,240 | $67,53212 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 85th percentile of 26 rheumatology providers in West Virginia.
Other rheumatology in South Charleston
- Suzanne GharibSouth Charleston$4.4M
- Thomas HowardSouth Charleston$1K
- Wassim SaikaliBeckley$7.6M
- Mirza BegHuntington$27K
- Leah TriplettCharleston$19K
- Brian HoustonMorgantown$10K
- Charles JusticeCharleston$6K
- Michael RezaianMartinsburg$5K
- Arash HassantoufighiMartinsburg$5K
- Silera Holguin BalbuenaCharleston$3K
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.