Nicholas Wirtz, MD
Otolaryngology · Merriam, KSNPI 1588920144
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by education: $10,526 of the $14,425 with a category attached, or 73.0%. Intuitive Surgical accounts for 85.9% of it on its own, with 38 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $6,333 and has fallen 94.1% since, to $375 in 2025. Among otolaryngology clinicians in KS with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 96 payments — averaging $150.26 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Intuitive Surgical$12K
- Sanofi$253
- Aerin Medical Inc.$166
- Intersect ENT, Inc.$144
- Acclarent, Inc$144
- Stryker$139
- plus $1K from 33 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,59211%
- Food & beverage$2,30816%
- Education$10,52673%
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.
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.
- Da Vinci Surgical System$12,169
- Halo$108
- TULA$108
How this compares
$14,425 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 87 otolaryngology providers in Kansas.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Dupixent PenDupilumab | 13 | $48,648 |
| Ipratropium Bromide | 60 | $1,731 |
| Triamcinolone Acetonide | 22 | $862 |
| Mupirocin | 31 | $232 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 33 | $183 |
| Amoxicillin-Clavulanate PotassAmoxicillin/Potassium Clav | 13 | $158 |
| Lidocaine Hcl ViscousLidocaine Hcl | 11 | $85 |
| Chlorhexidine Gluconate | 23 | $61 |
| Gabapentin | 14 | $41 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 17 | $30 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other otolaryngology in Merriam
- Stanley McClurgMerriam$133K
- Katherine AberleMerriam$4K
- Jason ShowmakerMerriam$2K
- Kyle KimuraMerriam$1K
- Hinrich StaeckerKansas City$499K
- Douglas CowanLeawood$32K
- Jennifer VillwockKansas City$26K
- David RudmanOverland Park$18K
- Meha FoxKansas City$12K
- Kiran KakaralaKansas City$10K
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.