Phillip Nichols, MD
Pulmonary Disease · Knoxville, TNNPI 1639115496
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $4,046 of the $5,343 with a category attached, or 75.7%. 31 manufacturers reported payments, led by Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. at 27.5% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $1,683 and has fallen 84.6% since, to $260 in 2024.
Across 189 payments — averaging $28.27 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Inspire Medical Systems, Inc.$1K
- GSK$880
- AstraZeneca$620
- Insmed, Inc.$425
- Philips North America LLC$236
- Boehringer Ingelheim$202
- plus $2K from 25 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,16222%
- Food & beverage$4,04676%
- Education$1363%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | 7 | $1,467 |
| GSK | 56 | $880 |
| AstraZeneca | 14 | $620 |
| Insmed, Inc. | 18 | $425 |
| Philips North America LLC | 9 | $236 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 12 | $202 |
| Harmony Biosciences LLC | 4 | $166 |
| Grifols USA, LLC | 9 | $162 |
| United Therapeutics Corporation | 7 | $142 |
| Amgen | 6 | $120 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 7 | $118 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 6 | $113 |
| Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 5 | $112 |
| Pulmonx Corporation | 3 | $80 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 2 | $56 |
| Resmed Corp | 3 | $53 |
| Gilead | 2 | $45 |
| Mylan Specialty L.p. | 3 | $45 |
| Electromed, Inc. | 1 | $35 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 2 | $34 |
| Merck | 2 | $33 |
| Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $29 |
| CSL Behring | 1 | $26 |
| Sanofi | 1 | $23 |
| Inogen, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Novartis | 1 | $18 |
| Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Inc | 1 | $17 |
| AbbVie | 1 | $17 |
| Hospira, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Advanced Respiratory, Inc | 1 | $16 |
| Shire North American Group 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.
- Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation System$1,317
- FASENRA$229
- Arikayce$122
- TEZSPIRE$108
- Trilogy 100$103
How this compares
$5,343 in reported general payments places this provider in the 60th percentile of 339 pulmonary disease providers in Tennessee.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| OfevNintedanib Esylate | 17 | $217,563 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 139 | $129,161 |
| Prolastin CAlpha-1-Proteinase Inhibitor | 11 | $127,457 |
| Stiolto RespimatTiotropium Br/Olodaterol Hcl | 32 | $28,656 |
| Breo ElliptaFluticasone/Vilanterol | 43 | $23,155 |
| Anoro ElliptaUmeclidinium Brm/Vilanterol Tr | 11 | $4,897 |
| Arnuity ElliptaFluticasone Furoate | 18 | $4,864 |
| Albuterol Sulfate HfaAlbuterol Sulfate | 106 | $4,625 |
| Fluticasone-SalmeterolFluticasone Propion/Salmeterol | 16 | $3,194 |
| Budesonide-Formoterol FumarateBudesonide/Formoterol Fumarate | 20 | $2,778 |
| Azithromycin | 41 | $960 |
| Modafinil | 11 | $515 |
| Montelukast Sodium | 58 | $335 |
| Prednisone | 39 | $231 |
| Ropinirole Hcl | 22 | $179 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Boehringer IngelheimOfev, Stiolto Respimat | $202 | $246,21949 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta, Breo Ellipta, Anoro Ellipta, Arnuity Ellipta | $880 | $162,077211 claims |
| Grifols USA, LLCProlastin C | $162 | $127,45711 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 60th percentile of 339 pulmonary disease providers in Tennessee.
Other pulmonary disease in Knoxville
- John SwisherKnoxville$234K
- John PrinceKnoxville$117K
- Rajiv DhandKnoxville$96K
- Varun ShahKnoxville$64K
- Benjamin BevillKnoxville$31K
- Shannon ByrdKnoxville$23K
- James PharaohKnoxville$20K
- Isaac BineyKnoxville$16K
- Lisa LancasterNashville$519K
- Krishnendu BhadraChattanooga$494K
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.