Michael Smitherman, MD
Rheumatology · Dickson, TNNPI 1053303685
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (51.5%), speaking fees and consulting fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 37 manufacturers reported payments, led by Boehringer Ingelheim at 36.7% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $11,854 and has fallen 67.5% since, to $3,850 in 2025. Among rheumatology clinicians in TN 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 1,192 payments — averaging $32.85 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Boehringer Ingelheim$14K
- Amgen$6K
- Pfizer$4K
- Johnson & Johnson$3K
- AbbVie$3K
- UCB, Inc.$2K
- plus $7K from 31 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$6,09016%
- Speaking & faculty fees$11,12028%
- Grants$2401%
- Travel & lodging$1,4634%
- Food & beverage$20,15751%
- Education$930%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 68 | $14,381 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 245 | $5,851 |
| Pfizer | 64 | $3,665 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 86 | $3,178 |
| AbbVie | 151 | $2,858 |
| UCB, Inc. | 143 | $2,150 |
| Novartis | 92 | $1,035 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 49 | $761 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 50 | $758 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 37 | $591 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 31 | $585 |
| Radius Health, Inc. | 32 | $501 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 25 | $469 |
| GSK | 27 | $467 |
| Sanofi | 10 | $309 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 14 | $251 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 6 | $211 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 7 | $166 |
| Fidia Pharma USA Inc. | 13 | $161 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 7 | $127 |
| Sobi, Inc | 7 | $121 |
| Sandoz | 4 | $91 |
| Organon | 5 | $79 |
| Pacira Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | 1 | $50 |
| Medexus Pharma, Inc. | 3 | $41 |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA | 2 | $40 |
| Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC | 2 | $37 |
| Antares Pharma, Inc. | 2 | $37 |
| Pharmacosmos Therapeutics Inc. | 1 | $32 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 1 | $27 |
| Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Orthogenrx Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Kyowa Kirin, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Pacira Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 1 | $19 |
| Acella Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 1 | $14 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 1 | $12 |
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
$39,163 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 127 rheumatology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab | 62 | $415,721 |
| Enbrel SureclickEtanercept | 35 | $278,923 |
| Enbrel MiniEtanercept | 35 | $267,509 |
| Cyltezo(Cf) PenAdalimumab-Adbm | 23 | $147,271 |
| BenlystaBelimumab | 20 | $94,619 |
| OtezlaApremilast | 13 | $66,857 |
| Actemra ActpenTocilizumab | 16 | $66,710 |
| ActemraTocilizumab | 12 | $55,263 |
| Adalimumab-Adaz(Cf) PenAdalimumab-Adaz | 17 | $23,292 |
| Leflunomide | 129 | $14,871 |
| Duloxetine Hcl | 431 | $10,106 |
| MethotrexateMethotrexate Sodium | 297 | $9,531 |
| Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate | 184 | $9,528 |
| RasuvoMethotrexate/Pf | 14 | $8,738 |
| Bupropion XlBupropion Hcl | 81 | $4,236 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| GSKBenlysta | $467 | $94,61920 claims |
| AmgenOtezla | $5,851 | $66,85713 claims |
| Medexus Pharma, Inc.Rasuvo | $41 | $8,73814 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 90th percentile of 127 rheumatology providers in Tennessee.
Other rheumatology in Dickson
- Joseph HuffstutterHixson$742K
- Brett SmithKnoxville$587K
- Satish OdhavJackson$527K
- Jacob AelionJackson$459K
- Marcus OwenMurfreesboro$324K
- Mohammad AliHendersonville$251K
- Victor ByrdNashville$247K
- Ramesh GuptaMemphis$81K
- Christian RheaNashville$81K
- Tyler ReeseNashville$80K
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.