Nels Dahlgren, MD
Pain Medicine · Rio Rancho, NMNPI 1396884318
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 146 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 8 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 58.2% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2020 at $950 and has fallen 51.1% since, to $464 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for pain medicine clinicians in NM, where the typical reported total is $2,719.
Across 146 payments — averaging $18.62 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$2K
- Abbott$523
- Boston Scientific$292
- Saluda Medical Americas, Inc.$172
- Tersera Therapeutics LLC$70
- Merz North America, Inc.$36
- plus $44 from 2 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$2,719100%
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 entities) | 109 | $1,581 |
| Abbott | 25 | $523 |
| Boston Scientific | 3 | $292 |
| Saluda Medical Americas, Inc. | 3 | $172 |
| Tersera Therapeutics LLC | 3 | $70 |
| Merz North America, Inc. | 1 | $36 |
| Flowonix Medical Incorporated | 1 | $32 |
| Titan Pharmaceuticals, 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.
- Intracept$232
- SYNCHROMEDII$138
- Evoke$118
How this compares
$2,719 in reported general payments places this provider in the 50th percentile of 36 pain medicine providers in New Mexico.
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-NaloxoneBuprenorphine Hcl/Naloxone Hcl | 16 | $1,717 |
| Pregabalin | 26 | $1,326 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 64 | $1,005 |
| Gabapentin | 47 | $823 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 33 | $423 |
| Methylprednisolone | 34 | $345 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 16 | $224 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 22 | $218 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other pain medicine in Rio Rancho
- Robert ZunigaRio Rancho$4K
- John WatkinsAlbuquerque$22K
- Craig RumbaughAlbuquerque$11K
- Eugene KoshkinAlbuquerque$10K
- Llewelyn WilliamsLas Cruces$8K
- Dmitry GarmaevFarmington$8K
- Matthew BergstenAlbuquerque$7K
- Jonathan JonesFarmington$6K
- Lauren HarrisAlbuquerque$6K
- Melissa MerhegeAlbuquerque$5K
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.