Nicholas Thompson, MD
Otolaryngology · Chapel Hill, NCNPI 1508210923
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by travel and lodging: $16,315 of the $23,719 with a category attached, or 68.8%. Med-el Corporation accounts for 87.9% of it on its own, with 5 other manufacturers making up the rest. 2025 is the largest year on record at $11,585, 5.5 times the $2,102 reported in 2019. Among otolaryngology clinicians in NC with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 89 payments — averaging $266.51 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Med-el Corporation$21K
- Iotamotion, Inc.$1K
- Stryker$757
- Cochlear Americas$531
- Advanced Bionics, LLC$277
- Acclarent, Inc$112
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$1,0504%
- Travel & lodging$16,31569%
- Food & beverage$3,29414%
- Education$3,06013%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Med-el Corporation | 56 | $20,854 |
| Iotamotion, Inc. | 3 | $1,189 |
| Stryker | 12 | $757 |
| Cochlear Americas | 10 | $531 |
| Advanced Bionics, LLC | 4 | $277 |
| Acclarent, Inc | 4 | $112 |
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.
- Mi1250 SYNCHRONY 2 FLEXsoft$17,198
- BCI 602 Kit$13,937
- ADHEAR Professional Kit$8,522
- MED-EL Maestro Cochlear Implant System$2,402
- iotaSOFT$1,050
- N/A$449
- Baha$436
- Cochlear Nucleus CI632 cochlear implant with Slim Modiolar electrode$296
- OSIA OSI300 IMPLANT$296
- Cochlear$280
- HIRES ULTRA CI HIFOCUS MS ELECTRODE$162
- iotaSOFT Insertion System$122
How this compares
$23,719 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 362 otolaryngology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Neomycin-Polymyxin-HydrocortNeomycin/Polymyxin B/Hydrocort | 25 | $1,348 |
| Fluticasone Propionate | 16 | $270 |
| Methylprednisolone | 11 | $73 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 19 | $35 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other otolaryngology in Chapel Hill
- Brent SeniorChapel Hill$91K
- Charles EbertChapel Hill$57K
- Harold PillsburyChapel Hill$42K
- Anne SelleckChapel Hill$7K
- Daniel AliceaChapel Hill$5K
- Matthew MillerChapel Hill$5K
- Trevor HackmanChapel Hill$4K
- Justin MillerChapel Hill$4K
- Carlton ZdanskiChapel Hill$4K
- Doris LinChapel Hill$4K
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.