Paul Howard
Rheumatology · Scottsdale, AZNPI 1811081375
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $107,400 of the $124,017 with a category attached, or 86.6%. Amgen accounts for 98.8% of it on its own, with 19 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $39,881 and has fallen 85.2% since, to $5,920 in 2025. Among rheumatology clinicians in AZ 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 249 payments — averaging $498.06 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Amgen$123K
- AbbVie$316
- Pfizer$264
- Johnson & Johnson$124
- UCB, Inc.$96
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$92
- plus $594 from 14 others
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$107,40087%
- Travel & lodging$10,9099%
- Food & beverage$5,6525%
- Education$560%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amgen | 178 | $122,531 |
| AbbVie | 13 | $316 |
| Pfizer | 18 | $264 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 6 | $124 |
| UCB, Inc. | 4 | $96 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 4 | $92 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 1 | $92 |
| Sanofi | 4 | $79 |
| Argenx US, Inc. | 1 | $56 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 3 | $51 |
| GSK | 2 | $49 |
| Radius Health, Inc. | 3 | $44 |
| Grifols USA, LLC | 2 | $38 |
| Novartis | 2 | $38 |
| Octapharma USA, Inc. | 1 | $36 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 2 | $34 |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA | 2 | $26 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| AstraZeneca | 1 | $17 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 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
$124,017 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 102 rheumatology providers in Arizona.
Most prescribed under Part D
| Drug | Claims | Cost to plans & patients |
|---|---|---|
| EnbrelEtanercept | 49 | $456,116 |
| Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab | 54 | $412,779 |
| Xeljanz XrTofacitinib Citrate | 61 | $385,295 |
| Humira(Cf)Adalimumab | 44 | $324,729 |
| XeljanzTofacitinib Citrate | 27 | $207,598 |
| RinvoqUpadacitinib | 18 | $136,335 |
| OrenciaAbatacept | 19 | $120,117 |
| Enbrel SureclickEtanercept | 14 | $107,434 |
| OtezlaApremilast | 20 | $105,020 |
| Enbrel MiniEtanercept | 13 | $97,909 |
| KevzaraSarilumab | 20 | $87,749 |
| Taltz AutoinjectorIxekizumab | 13 | $84,094 |
| MethotrexateMethotrexate Sodium | 114 | $4,800 |
| Azathioprine | 29 | $4,365 |
| Methylprednisolone | 118 | $3,161 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AmgenEnbrel, Otezla | $122,531 | $561,13669 claims |
| AbbVieHumira(Cf), Rinvoq | $316 | $461,06462 claims |
| PfizerXeljanz | $264 | $207,59827 claims |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.Orencia | $92 | $120,11719 claims |
| SanofiKevzara | $79 | $87,74920 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 90th percentile of 102 rheumatology providers in Arizona.
Other rheumatology in Scottsdale
- Vivek NagarajaScottsdale$36K
- Ramin SabahiScottsdale$13K
- Gabriel ColceriuScottsdale$13K
- Hani RashidScottsdale$13K
- Mark FreijatScottsdale$10K
- Lester MertzScottsdale$4K
- Megan SullivanScottsdale$3K
- Fawad AslamScottsdale$3K
- Winford GriffingScottsdale$2K
- Nehad SolomanPhoenix$1.3M
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.