Rajinder Chhokar, MD
Cardiology · Columbus, GANPI 1215039714
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $14,409 of the $17,139 with a category attached, or 84.1%. 48 manufacturers reported payments, led by Abbott at 29.6% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $5,443 and has fallen 62.2% since, to $2,059 in 2025. Among cardiology clinicians in GA 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 646 payments — averaging $26.53 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abbott$5K
- Johnson & Johnson$1K
- Amgen$1K
- Pfizer$1K
- Novartis$929
- AstraZeneca$731
- plus $7K from 42 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$2,70416%
- Food & beverage$14,40984%
- Education$260%
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.
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.
- ENSITE PRECISION$1,786
- AVEIR$921
- CARDIOMEMS$669
- Repatha$511
- Assure WCD$383
- MitraClip System$251
- NEXLIZET$234
- NEXLETOL$234
- AZURE XT DR MRI SURESCAN$174
- Barostim Neo System$160
- Impella$147
- Micra$136
- THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$131
- EPI-SENSE GUIDED COAGULATION SYSTEM WITH VISITRAX$126
- VERQUVO$125
- AMVUTTRA$124
- Kerendia$124
- FARXIGA$123
- ASSURITY$112
- XARELTO$110
How this compares
$17,139 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 24 cardiology providers in Georgia.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 407 | $398,964 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 138 | $152,521 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 139 | $148,932 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 102 | $89,669 |
| VascepaIcosapent Ethyl | 48 | $23,930 |
| NexlizetBempedoic Acid/Ezetimibe | 28 | $17,535 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 15 | $14,948 |
| Repatha SyringeEvolocumab | 16 | $12,139 |
| BrilintaTicagrelor | 19 | $9,996 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 768 | $9,582 |
| MultaqDronedarone Hcl | 12 | $9,005 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 555 | $8,836 |
| Ranolazine ErRanolazine | 90 | $8,371 |
| Nifedipine ErNifedipine | 291 | $8,281 |
| NexletolBempedoic Acid | 17 | $8,116 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $1,109 | $398,964407 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $1,266 | $152,521138 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $929 | $148,932139 claims |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc.Nexlizet, Nexletol | $636 | $25,65145 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Brilinta | $731 | $24,94434 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCMultaq | $108 | $9,00512 claims |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc.Livalo | $22 | $7,14615 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 24 cardiology providers in Georgia.
Other cardiology in Columbus
- Zulfiquar BhattiColumbus$16K
- Vaibhav PatelColumbus$15K
- Samir MewarColumbus$15K
- Kalaivani SivakumarAtlanta$16K
- Robert LemboSavannah$10K
- Obinnaya EmeroleMacon$8K
- Mark WatkinsBrunswick$4K
- Annie HoAtlanta$2K
- John SmithAtlanta$1K
- Chukwuemeka NwabueboMacon$877
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.