Nathan Christie, MD
Pain Medicine · Burlington, NCNPI 1124052758
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $1,532 of the $2,343 with a category attached, or 65.4%. 8 manufacturers reported payments, led by Boston Scientific at 48.8% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $1,403 and has fallen 88.9% since, to $156 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for pain medicine clinicians in NC, where the typical reported total is $3,846.
Across 27 payments — averaging $86.79 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Boston Scientific$1K
- Medtronic$473
- Saluda Medical Americas, Inc.$267
- Si-bone, Inc.$156
- Vertos Medical, Inc.$150
- Nevro Corp.$117
- plus $37 from 2 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$81135%
- Food & beverage$1,53265%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Scientific | 11 | $1,143 |
| Medtronic | 6 | $473 |
| Saluda Medical Americas, Inc. | 4 | $267 |
| Si-bone, Inc. | 1 | $156 |
| Vertos Medical, Inc. | 1 | $150 |
| Nevro Corp. | 1 | $117 |
| Indivior Inc. | 2 | $24 |
| Shionogi Inc | 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.
- Intracept$817
- INTELLIS ADAPTIVESTIM$300
- Evoke$159
- mild Device Kit$150
- Omnia$117
- INCEPTIV$104
How this compares
$2,343 in reported general payments places this provider in the 40th percentile of 182 pain medicine providers in North 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 92 | $2,119 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 37 | $1,830 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 94 | $1,771 |
| Buprenorphine-NaloxoneBuprenorphine Hcl/Naloxone Hcl | 13 | $1,747 |
| Gabapentin | 66 | $1,161 |
| Lidocaine | 13 | $948 |
| Methocarbamol | 34 | $398 |
| Duloxetine Hcl | 11 | $378 |
| Tizanidine Hcl | 21 | $373 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 49 | $354 |
| Acetaminophen-CodeineAcetaminophen With Codeine | 15 | $288 |
| Pregabalin | 30 | $244 |
| Morphine Sulfate ErMorphine Sulfate | 13 | $233 |
| Hydromorphone Hcl | 15 | $204 |
| Meloxicam | 55 | $143 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other pain medicine in Burlington
- James NorthWinston Salem$721K
- Leonardo KapuralWinston Salem$523K
- Christopher GilmoreWinston Salem$457K
- Richard RauckWinston Salem$431K
- Courtney AumanJacksonville$186K
- Jacob WangCharlotte$162K
- Aashish KumarCharlotte$160K
- Javid BakshAsheville$116K
- David ZubLeland$97K
- James DeeringCharlotte$93K
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.