Nicole Chieka
Gerontology · Colorado Springs, CONPI 1588192363
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — travel and lodging (55.4%), food and beverage and consulting fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 17 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 55.0% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $3,333 and has fallen 93.7% since, to $211 in 2025. Among gerontology clinicians in CO 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 63 payments — averaging $95.01 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$3K
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$1K
- Biosense Webster, Inc.$289
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$183
- Boston Scientific$161
- Abbott$149
- plus $785 from 11 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$4908%
- Travel & lodging$3,31355%
- Food & beverage$2,16436%
- Education$180%
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 | 28 | $3,293 |
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 4 | $1,127 |
| Biosense Webster, Inc. | 4 | $289 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 5 | $183 |
| Boston Scientific | 2 | $161 |
| Abbott | 2 | $149 |
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 1 | $128 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $125 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 1 | $124 |
| Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $111 |
| Merck | 1 | $100 |
| Pfizer | 4 | $64 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 2 | $32 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2 | $30 |
| Philips North America LLC | 2 | $30 |
| Novartis | 2 | $27 |
| La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company | 1 | $13 |
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
$5,986 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 85 gerontology providers in Colorado.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 90 | $99,078 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 32 | $37,739 |
| Flecainide Acetate | 43 | $1,601 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 86 | $1,285 |
| Amiodarone Hcl | 64 | $1,281 |
| Dofetilide | 16 | $1,045 |
| SotalolSotalol Hcl | 40 | $849 |
| Diltiazem 24hr Er (Cd)Diltiazem Hcl | 16 | $427 |
| Metoprolol Tartrate | 31 | $170 |
| Furosemide | 11 | $20 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $64 | $99,07890 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $30 | $37,73932 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 95th percentile of 85 gerontology providers in Colorado.
Other gerontology in Colorado Springs
- Kimberly RobertsonColorado Springs$9K
- Melinda McClendonColorado Springs$8K
- Rhiannon SundayColorado Springs$5K
- Elena ShieldsColorado Springs$2K
- Marcus EvansColorado Springs$1K
- Adam BlissColorado Springs$1K
- Veronica MiskoColorado Springs$1K
- Sonya FairchildColorado Springs$731
- Melissa RockholdColorado Springs$663
- Maren SmithColorado Springs$472
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.