Nicholas Panella, MD
Otolaryngology · Knoxville, TNNPI 1023374238
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $4,473 of the $5,273 with a category attached, or 84.8%. It is spread thinly across 28 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 21.0% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations.
Across 201 payments — averaging $26.23 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Aerin Medical Inc.$1K
- Optinose US, Inc.$594
- Sanofi$578
- Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.$550
- Medtronic$362
- Intersect ENT, Inc.$360
- plus $2K from 22 others
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$80015%
- Food & beverage$4,47385%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Aerin Medical Inc. | 11 | $1,109 |
| Optinose US, Inc. | 53 | $594 |
| Sanofi | 25 | $578 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 25 | $550 |
| Medtronic | 4 | $362 |
| Intersect ENT, Inc. | 11 | $360 |
| GSK | 14 | $290 |
| Olympus America Inc. | 9 | $250 |
| Stryker | 8 | $210 |
| Acclarent, Inc | 9 | $206 |
| Organogenesis Inc. | 1 | $117 |
| Integra Lifesciences Corporation | 5 | $100 |
| Merck | 4 | $80 |
| Acera Surgical, Inc. | 3 | $58 |
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | 3 | $55 |
| Spirair, Inc. | 1 | $51 |
| Hologic Sales And Service, LLC | 2 | $47 |
| Neurent Medical Limited | 1 | $46 |
| AstraZeneca | 2 | $42 |
| Pfizer | 2 | $28 |
| Novartis | 1 | $27 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 1 | $18 |
| Alk-abello, Inc | 1 | $18 |
| Ambu Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Amgen | 1 | $17 |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA | 1 | $16 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Resmed Corp | 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
$5,273 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 191 otolaryngology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| XhanceFluticasone Propionate | 14 | $8,630 |
| Epinephrine | 28 | $4,031 |
| Ipratropium Bromide | 75 | $2,920 |
| Fluticasone Propionate | 85 | $1,507 |
| Omeprazole | 85 | $1,281 |
| Ofloxacin | 20 | $1,030 |
| Dexamethasone | 19 | $964 |
| Amoxicillin-Clavulanate PotassAmoxicillin/Potassium Clav | 70 | $864 |
| Clarithromycin | 29 | $807 |
| Azelastine Hcl | 20 | $514 |
| Triamcinolone Acetonide | 51 | $189 |
| Azithromycin | 20 | $140 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 47 | $134 |
| Cephalexin | 18 | $71 |
| Lidocaine Hcl ViscousLidocaine Hcl | 15 | $59 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Optinose US, Inc.Xhance | $594 | $8,63014 claims |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USAEpinephrine | $16 | $4,03128 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 85th percentile of 191 otolaryngology providers in Tennessee.
Other otolaryngology in Knoxville
- Mark GurleyKnoxville$8K
- Jaron DenskyKnoxville$4K
- Samuel OverholtKnoxville$3K
- Rakesh ChandraNashville$381K
- David FortuneHermitage$298K
- Grady BryantHermitage$74K
- Marion GillespieMemphis$67K
- Clyde MathisonFarragut$66K
- Dean KlugGermantown$37K
- Michael TopfNashville$36K
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.