Ralph Baucum, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Shreveport, LANPI 1295735793
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 172 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 25 manufacturers reported payments, led by Boston Scientific at 48.3% of the total.
Across 172 payments — averaging $28.21 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Boston Scientific$2K
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$657
- Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc.$298
- Medtronic$288
- Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC$127
- Merck$124
- plus $1K from 19 others
Across 17 payments — averaging $1401.10 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.
- Boston Scientific$24K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$4,852100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Scientific | 46 | $2,343 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 46 | $657 |
| Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc. | 9 | $298 |
| Medtronic | 10 | $288 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 8 | $127 |
| Merck | 7 | $124 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $121 |
| Abiomed | 5 | $111 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 6 | $105 |
| Abbott | 5 | $101 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 5 | $86 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 3 | $75 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 1 | $67 |
| Amgen | 3 | $58 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 4 | $54 |
| Novo Nordisk | 3 | $48 |
| Pfizer | 2 | $35 |
| Itamar Medical Inc | 1 | $22 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 1 | $22 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, PLC | 1 | $22 |
| Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. | 1 | $22 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 1 | $19 |
| AstraZeneca | 1 | $15 |
| Philips North America LLC | 1 | $15 |
| Gilead | 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
$4,852 in reported general payments places this provider in the 60th percentile of 281 cardiovascular disease providers in Louisiana.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 191 | $229,736 |
| EliquisApixaban | 223 | $192,298 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 163 | $175,622 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 27 | $24,912 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 17 | $15,821 |
| MultaqDronedarone Hcl | 16 | $14,782 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 15 | $11,851 |
| Praluent PenAlirocumab | 12 | $7,213 |
| Nebivolol Hcl | 74 | $5,158 |
| Prasugrel Hcl | 27 | $3,588 |
| Ranolazine ErRanolazine | 33 | $3,002 |
| Clonidine | 20 | $2,914 |
| Isosorbide Mononitrate ErIsosorbide Mononitrate | 161 | $2,817 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 177 | $2,553 |
| Olmesartan Medoxomil | 131 | $2,156 |
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 | $35 | $192,298223 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $105 | $175,622163 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $54 | $15,82117 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCMultaq | $127 | $14,78216 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $15 | $11,85115 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 281 cardiovascular disease providers in Louisiana.
Other cardiovascular disease in Shreveport
- Basel KasabaliShreveport$30K
- Tina FirouzbakhtShreveport$28K
- Wenwu ZhangShreveport$21K
- William EavesShreveport$15K
- Jagan BeedupalliShreveport$13K
- Mahin KhanShreveport$10K
- Keith FerdinandNew Orleans$239K
- Carl LavieNew Orleans$228K
- Imran ChaudryMonroe$202K
- Corey FosterLake Charles$158K
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.