Paul Akerman, MD
Gastroenterology · Providence, RINPI 1942302773
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by other: $92,046 of the $122,848 with a category attached, or 74.9%. Zimmer Biomet accounts for 74.9% of it on its own, with 27 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $103,208 and has fallen 95.8% since, to $4,347 in 2025. Among gastroenterology clinicians in RI 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 366 payments — averaging $335.65 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Zimmer Biomet$92K
- Spirus Medical LLC$8K
- Olympus Corporation Of The Americas$8K
- Gyrus ACMI, Inc.$5K
- AbbVie$3K
- Olympus Corporation$2K
- plus $5K from 22 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$22,63118%
- Speaking & faculty fees$5150%
- Travel & lodging$1330%
- Food & beverage$7,5246%
- Other$92,04675%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Zimmer Biomet | 1 | $92,046 |
| Spirus Medical LLC | 2 | $8,250 |
| Olympus Corporation Of The Americas | 13 | $7,994 |
| Gyrus ACMI, Inc. | 5 | $4,620 |
| AbbVie | 217 | $3,320 |
| Olympus Corporation | 4 | $1,762 |
| Keymed (medical And Industrial Equipment) Ltd | 2 | $840 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 23 | $590 |
| Olympus America Inc. | 7 | $407 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 11 | $378 |
| Pfizer | 17 | $335 |
| Medtronic | 2 | $283 |
| Fujifilm Healthcare Americas Corporation | 3 | $261 |
| Micro-tech Endoscopy USA, Inc. | 2 | $214 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 2 | $204 |
| Boston Scientific | 2 | $199 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 10 | $188 |
| Gilead | 8 | $159 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 6 | $147 |
| Nestle Healthcare Nutrition Inc. | 6 | $127 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 3 | $121 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 4 | $107 |
| Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 4 | $88 |
| Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc | 5 | $81 |
| Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 4 | $70 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 1 | $27 |
| Ardelyx, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Merck | 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.
- EVIS EXERA III DUODENOVIDEOSCOPE$3,348
- Olympus Hemostasis Devices$620
- Single Use Electrosurgical Snare SD-400$550
- Olympus Tissue Acquisition Devices$420
- Olympus GI Stricture Devices$420
- LesionHunter$200
- GI Genius$156
- Endocuff Vision$149
- DISPOSABLE TRIPLE LUMEN SPHINCTEROTOME$149
- Single Use Electrosurgical Knife KD-655$149
- Single Use Electrosurgical Hemostatic Forceps$149
- PillCam$127
- LINX Reflux Management System$122
- GENERAL - THERAPIES$112
How this compares
$122,848 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 85 gastroenterology providers in Rhode Island.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Dexlansoprazole DrDexlansoprazole | 13 | $6,346 |
| CholestyramineCholestyramine (With Sugar) | 21 | $1,694 |
| Omeprazole | 98 | $1,527 |
| Ondansetron OdtOndansetron | 21 | $1,202 |
| Cholestyramine LightCholestyramine | 13 | $911 |
| Famotidine | 36 | $669 |
| Esomeprazole Magnesium | 17 | $448 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 35 | $258 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other gastroenterology in Providence
- Thomas SepeProvidence$307K
- Sean FineProvidence$55K
- Breton RousselProvidence$50K
- Alan EpsteinProvidence$36K
- Samir ShahProvidence$28K
- Lisa MuellerProvidence$25K
- Nabil ToubiaProvidence$20K
- Thaer AbdelfattahProvidence$17K
- Eric NewtonProvidence$16K
- William ChenProvidence$13K
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.