Michelle Sato, MD
Ophthalmology · Los Angeles, CANPI 1225326580
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 159 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 27 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 18.5% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations.
Across 159 payments — averaging $28.35 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Glaukos Corporation$833
- Alcon$651
- AbbVie$633
- Nova Eye, Inc.$348
- Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.$327
- Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$317
- plus $1K from 21 others
Across 64 payments — averaging $1165.19 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.
- Glaukos Corporation$60K
- AbbVie$14K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$4,508100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Glaukos Corporation | 13 | $833 |
| Alcon | 18 | $651 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 26 | $633 |
| Nova Eye, Inc. | 1 | $348 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 16 | $327 |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 24 | $317 |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 9 | $199 |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. | 7 | $180 |
| Sight Sciences, Inc. | 7 | $154 |
| Thea Pharma Inc. | 5 | $103 |
| Ivantis, Inc | 2 | $87 |
| Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $81 |
| Akorn Operating Company LLC | 4 | $72 |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 4 | $65 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 2 | $55 |
| Alimera Sciences, Inc. | 4 | $48 |
| Harrow Eye, LLC | 2 | $44 |
| NEW World Medical,inc. | 1 | $44 |
| Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision, Inc. | 1 | $44 |
| Novartis | 2 | $38 |
| Dompe US, Inc. | 1 | $35 |
| Amgen | 1 | $30 |
| Rayner Intraocular Lenses Limited | 1 | $26 |
| Akorn, Inc. | 2 | $25 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 1 | $23 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $23 |
| Optos, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
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
$4,508 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 2,513 ophthalmology providers in California.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| VyzultaLatanoprostene Bunod | 139 | $74,163 |
| Alphagan PBrimonidine Tartrate | 134 | $56,981 |
| RestasisCyclosporine | 29 | $42,336 |
| LumiganBimatoprost | 82 | $40,772 |
| RhopressaNetarsudil Mesylate | 79 | $39,181 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 393 | $26,695 |
| RocklatanNetarsudil Mesylat/Latanoprost | 43 | $22,317 |
| SimbrinzaBrinzolamide/Brimonidine Tart | 64 | $19,372 |
| Latanoprost | 1,445 | $16,498 |
| Brinzolamide | 70 | $12,320 |
| Dorzolamide-TimololDorzolamide Hcl/Timolol Maleat | 622 | $12,092 |
| Travoprost | 65 | $11,792 |
| Cyclosporine | 15 | $10,397 |
| XiidraLifitegrast | 11 | $10,041 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate-TimololBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 63 | $9,027 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieAlphagan P, Restasis, Lumigan, Combigan | $633 | $148,381271 claims |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.Vyzulta, Xiidra | $327 | $84,204150 claims |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Rhopressa, Rocklatan | $317 | $61,499122 claims |
| AlconSimbrinza, Azopt | $651 | $24,50281 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 75th percentile of 2,513 ophthalmology providers in California.
Other ophthalmology in Los Angeles
- Andrew MoshfeghiLos Angeles$895K
- Barry SeibelLos Angeles$835K
- Nicole FramLos Angeles$551K
- Neda ShamieLos Angeles$547K
- David BoyerLos Angeles$406K
- David HamiltonLos Angeles$359K
- Arjan HuraLos Angeles$306K
- Firas RahhalLos Angeles$264K
- Kouros NourimahdaviLos Angeles$258K
- Daniel RootmanLos Angeles$247K
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.