Navid Alem, MD
Pain Medicine · Orange, CANPI 1972893790
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 9 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 5 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 45.9% of the total. That places this record below the midpoint for pain medicine clinicians in CA, where the typical reported total is $1,829.
Across 9 payments — averaging $81.54 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$337
- Orthofix Medical, Inc.$177
- Boston Scientific$163
- SPR Therapeutics, Inc$38
- Johnson & Johnson$19
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$734100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic | 2 | $337 |
| Orthofix Medical, Inc. | 1 | $177 |
| Boston Scientific | 4 | $163 |
| SPR Therapeutics, Inc | 1 | $38 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $19 |
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.
- Spinal-Stim$177
- INTELLIS ADAPTIVESTIM$169
- MAZOR X SYSTEM$168
How this compares
$734 in reported general payments places this provider in the 35th percentile of 840 pain medicine 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Buprenorphine | 27 | $6,619 |
| BelbucaBuprenorphine Hcl | 12 | $5,547 |
| Celecoxib | 125 | $3,305 |
| Pregabalin | 119 | $2,110 |
| Gabapentin | 135 | $1,439 |
| Duloxetine Hcl | 93 | $1,358 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 71 | $1,109 |
| Naloxone Hcl | 16 | $922 |
| Baclofen | 55 | $846 |
| Buprenorphine Hcl | 31 | $659 |
| Tramadol Hcl-AcetaminophenTramadol Hcl/Acetaminophen | 15 | $570 |
| Methadone Hcl | 24 | $462 |
| Methocarbamol | 74 | $433 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 23 | $330 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 27 | $232 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other pain medicine in Orange
- Shalini ShahOrange$141K
- Brian BoydOrange$127K
- Eric ChangOrange$27K
- Jason PopeSanta Rosa$2.1M
- Ramana NaiduLarkspur$1.4M
- Foead GeulaStudio City$1.3M
- Krishnan ChakravarthyTemecula$1.3M
- Kasra AmirdelfanWalnut Creek$783K
- Eric GrigsbyNapa$499K
- Jacqueline WeisbeinNapa$494K
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.