Patricia Vargas
Acute Care · Houston, TXNPI 1932851391
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 95 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 19 manufacturers reported payments, led by AstraZeneca at 24.4% of the total. Among acute care clinicians in TX 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 95 payments — averaging $34.81 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$807
- Amgen$494
- Travere Therapeutics, Inc.$462
- OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC$247
- Bayer$234
- Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc.$230
- plus $832 from 13 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$3,307100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZeneca | 18 | $807 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 9 | $494 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 6 | $462 |
| OPKO Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 16 | $247 |
| Bayer | 7 | $234 |
| Calliditas Therapeutics US Inc. | 6 | $230 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 6 | $196 |
| Vifor Pharma, Inc. | 6 | $166 |
| Fresenius USA Marketing, Inc. | 6 | $125 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 4 | $104 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $41 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 2 | $38 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 1 | $30 |
| Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. | 1 | $26 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Sanofi | 1 | $19 |
| Shield Therapeutics Inc | 1 | $14 |
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
$3,307 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 2,323 acute care providers in Texas.
Other acute care in Houston
- Afton DickersonHouston$27K
- Eleanor WeltgeHouston$25K
- Michelle JohnstonHouston$18K
- Amanda BergeronHouston$12K
- Nicole OnaHouston$12K
- Prashanth AnumandlaHouston$12K
- Ken ChanHouston$11K
- Brittney RichardHouston$11K
- Antonio Paolo AlmacenHouston$11K
- Laura WuesteHouston$11K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.