Rakesh Patel, DO
Rheumatology · Salisbury, NCNPI 1295712305
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $15,466 of the $18,879 with a category attached, or 81.9%. 37 manufacturers reported payments, led by Amgen at 27.2% of the total.
Across 896 payments — averaging $21.07 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Amgen$5K
- AbbVie$2K
- UCB Biosciences Inc.$2K
- Lilly USA, LLC$1K
- Johnson & Johnson$1K
- UCB, Inc.$1K
- plus $7K from 31 others
Across 569 payments — averaging $7070.16 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.
- Amgen$1.4M
- Regeneron$710K
- Eli Lilly$500K
- AbbVie$394K
- Janssen Research & Development, LLC$269K
- Novartis$195K
- plus $549K from 10 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$2301%
- Speaking & faculty fees$1,0506%
- Travel & lodging$1,96910%
- Food & beverage$15,46682%
- Education$1631%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amgen(2 entities) | 284 | $5,134 |
| AbbVie | 46 | $1,946 |
| UCB Biosciences Inc. | 9 | $1,509 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 84 | $1,421 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 74 | $1,193 |
| UCB, Inc. | 60 | $1,078 |
| Novartis | 55 | $993 |
| GSK | 38 | $867 |
| AstraZeneca | 40 | $797 |
| Pfizer | 52 | $794 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 26 | $605 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 36 | $604 |
| Sanofi | 16 | $386 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 16 | $337 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 16 | $275 |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 1 | $124 |
| Octapharma USA, Inc. | 6 | $114 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 6 | $100 |
| Cardinal Health 110 LLC | 1 | $100 |
| Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC | 3 | $58 |
| Radius Health, Inc. | 3 | $49 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 2 | $46 |
| Biogen | 2 | $37 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 2 | $37 |
| Organon | 2 | $32 |
| Sandoz | 2 | $29 |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA | 2 | $26 |
| Vertical Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 2 | $25 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Fidia Pharma USA Inc. | 2 | $21 |
| Pacira Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | 1 | $19 |
| Merck | 1 | $18 |
| IBSA Pharma Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Masimo Corporation | 1 | $15 |
| Sebela Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Circassia Inc. | 1 | $12 |
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
$18,879 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 210 rheumatology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Enbrel MiniEtanercept | 188 | $1,392,492 |
| RinvoqUpadacitinib | 100 | $690,209 |
| KevzaraSarilumab | 73 | $308,667 |
| Orencia ClickjectAbatacept | 50 | $280,142 |
| Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab | 22 | $145,493 |
| Xeljanz XrTofacitinib Citrate | 25 | $143,948 |
| BenlystaBelimumab | 24 | $126,888 |
| ActemraTocilizumab | 27 | $124,041 |
| Actemra ActpenTocilizumab | 32 | $100,129 |
| Cimzia (2 Pack)Certolizumab Pegol | 11 | $63,234 |
| ProliaDenosumab | 11 | $19,123 |
| Diclofenac Sodium | 108 | $14,174 |
| Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate | 870 | $13,363 |
| RasuvoMethotrexate/Pf | 18 | $10,915 |
| OtrexupMethotrexate/Pf | 12 | $10,788 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieRinvoq | $1,946 | $690,209100 claims |
| SanofiKevzara | $386 | $308,66773 claims |
| GSKBenlysta | $867 | $126,88824 claims |
| UCB, Inc.Cimzia (2 Pack) | $1,078 | $63,23411 claims |
| AmgenProlia | $5,134 | $19,12311 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 80th percentile of 210 rheumatology providers in North Carolina.
Other rheumatology in Salisbury
- Stacy KennedySalisbury$17K
- Gordon LamCharlotte$2.7M
- Ralph SnydermanDurham$1.3M
- Wendy SimmonsWilmington$462K
- Andrew LasterCharlotte$421K
- Ana RossRaleigh$417K
- Gwenesta MeltonFayetteville$410K
- Joseph ShanahanDurham$407K
- Jill ZouzoulasCharlotte$377K
- Jill VargoAsheville$245K
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.