Paul Hellstern, MD
Gastroenterology · Crystal River, FLNPI 1649207036
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 97.7% of the total across 145 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 24 manufacturers reported payments, led by AbbVie at 45.5% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $487 and has fallen 50.9% since, to $239 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for gastroenterology clinicians in FL, where the typical reported total is $3,025.
Across 145 payments — averaging $16.81 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AbbVie$1K
- Pfizer$210
- Bristol Myers Squibb$164
- Gilead$122
- Johnson & Johnson$117
- Nestle Healthcare Nutrition Inc.$103
- plus $613 from 18 others
Across 2,473 payments — averaging $1809.98 each. Payments tied to a research study. These frequently flow through the physician to a hospital or research institution rather than to the physician personally.
- AbbVie$1.7M
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.$1.4M
- Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$209K
- Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH$183K
- Madrigal Pharmaceuticals$155K
- Eli Lilly$120K
- plus $692K from 17 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$2,38198%
- Education$572%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 73 | $1,109 |
| Pfizer | 12 | $210 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 10 | $164 |
| Gilead | 6 | $122 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 6 | $117 |
| Nestle Healthcare Nutrition Inc. | 7 | $103 |
| Fujifilm Healthcare Americas Corporation | 2 | $100 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 5 | $73 |
| UCB, Inc. | 4 | $63 |
| Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc | 2 | $61 |
| Sanofi | 2 | $47 |
| Enterra Medical, Inc. | 1 | $35 |
| Novo Nordisk | 1 | $32 |
| Evoke Pharma, Inc. | 2 | $28 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 2 | $24 |
| Galderma Laboratories, L.p. | 1 | $22 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $22 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $18 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 1 | $17 |
| Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Axonics, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Endogastric Solutions, Inc | 1 | $15 |
| Stryker | 1 | $14 |
| Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $11 |
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.
- Mavyret$100
How this compares
$2,438 in reported general payments places this provider in the 40th percentile of 1,388 gastroenterology providers in Florida.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab | 18 | $174,082 |
| CreonLipase/Protease/Amylase | 29 | $87,105 |
| XeljanzTofacitinib Citrate | 14 | $76,756 |
| ClenpiqSod Picosulf/Mag Ox/Citric Ac | 433 | $74,337 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 13 | $20,616 |
| VoqueznaVonoprazan Fumarate | 12 | $19,245 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 808 | $14,734 |
| Colestipol Hcl | 122 | $11,413 |
| Famotidine | 380 | $9,424 |
| Omeprazole | 592 | $9,263 |
| Dicyclomine Hcl | 292 | $7,688 |
| SymproicNaldemedine Tosylate | 12 | $5,437 |
| Diphenoxylate-AtropineDiphenoxylate Hcl/Atropine | 45 | $2,415 |
| Ondansetron OdtOndansetron | 51 | $1,702 |
| Esomeprazole Magnesium | 50 | $1,696 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieCreon, Linzess | $1,109 | $107,72142 claims |
| PfizerXeljanz | $210 | $76,75614 claims |
| Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc.Clenpiq | $16 | $74,337433 claims |
| Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Voquezna | $11 | $19,24512 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 40th percentile of 1,388 gastroenterology providers in Florida.
Other gastroenterology in Crystal River
- Siddharth MathurCrystal River$105K
- Samuel GidayOrlando$2M
- Lukasz KwapiszMiami$1.2M
- Jennifer Seminerio-DiehlOrlando$1.1M
- Udayakumar NavaneethanSaint Petersburg$1.1M
- Ronen AraiCoral Springs$1.1M
- Charles SninskyGainesville$983K
- Peter DraganovGainesville$832K
- Arin NewmanMiami Beach$716K
- Joanna LopezMiami$670K
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.