Paula Newsome, OD
Optometrist · Charlotte, NCNPI 1225039993
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (58.8%), food and beverage and entertainment — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 23 manufacturers reported payments, led by Thea Pharma Inc. at 47.3% of the total. Among optometrist clinicians in NC 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 223 payments — averaging $72.48 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Thea Pharma Inc.$8K
- Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$3K
- Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.$2K
- Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.$680
- Alcon$642
- Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.$575
- plus $2K from 17 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$9,50259%
- Food & beverage$6,58941%
- Gifts$190%
- Entertainment$540%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Thea Pharma Inc. | 27 | $7,650 |
| Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 33 | $2,756 |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 12 | $1,605 |
| Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. | 21 | $680 |
| Alcon | 12 | $642 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 20 | $575 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 33 | $467 |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. | 9 | $264 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 11 | $262 |
| Bausch & Lomb, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 11 | $241 |
| LKC Technologies, Inc. | 4 | $217 |
| Novartis | 9 | $185 |
| Optovue, Inc. | 3 | $166 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec USA, Inc. | 3 | $122 |
| Dompe US, Inc. | 4 | $81 |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 4 | $79 |
| Optos, Inc. | 1 | $54 |
| Visioneering Technologies, Inc. | 1 | $30 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec AG | 1 | $19 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 1 | $18 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Coopervision Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Biotissue Holdings Inc. | 1 | $15 |
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
$16,164 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 1,326 optometrist providers in North Carolina.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| XdemvyLotilaner | 257 | $506,681 |
| LumiganBimatoprost | 381 | $220,694 |
| VyzultaLatanoprostene Bunod | 161 | $80,649 |
| MieboPerfluorohexyloctane/Pf | 32 | $25,902 |
| XiidraLifitegrast | 30 | $25,667 |
| CombiganBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 48 | $20,502 |
| Travoprost | 164 | $17,898 |
| Alphagan PBrimonidine Tartrate | 26 | $14,104 |
| Restasis MultidoseCyclosporine | 15 | $9,744 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate-TimololBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 38 | $5,913 |
| RocklatanNetarsudil Mesylat/Latanoprost | 13 | $4,335 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 11 | $2,760 |
| Latanoprost | 31 | $347 |
| Dorzolamide-TimololDorzolamide Hcl/Timolol Maleat | 21 | $301 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Xdemvy | $2,756 | $506,681257 claims |
| AbbVieLumigan, Combigan, Alphagan P, Restasis Multidose | $467 | $265,044470 claims |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.Vyzulta, Miebo, Xiidra | $575 | $132,218223 claims |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Rocklatan | $79 | $4,33513 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 1,326 optometrist providers in North Carolina.
Other optometrist in Charlotte
- David WichnoskiCharlotte$109K
- Scott PhilippeCharlotte$87K
- Norman MeltonCharlotte$86K
- Charles KnudsonCharlotte$16K
- Michael JohnsonCharlotte$13K
- Priya ShethCharlotte$11K
- Spencer MooreCharlotte$9K
- Marc JamesCharlotte$8K
- Courtney DryerCharlotte$8K
- Sarah BellCharlotte$8K
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.