Ralph Christy, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Concord, NCNPI 1770650236
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — travel and lodging (41.2%), food and beverage and education — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 10 manufacturers reported payments, led by Intuitive Surgical at 54.0% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $3,870 and has fallen 88.7% since, to $438 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in NC, where the typical reported total is $5,565.
Across 54 payments — averaging $108.16 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Intuitive Surgical$3K
- Artivion, Inc.$843
- Edwards Lifesciences$826
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$377
- Abiomed$175
- Atricure, Inc.$162
- plus $302 from 4 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$2,40841%
- Food & beverage$1,87232%
- Education$1,56127%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Intuitive Surgical | 13 | $3,156 |
| Artivion, Inc. | 4 | $843 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 8 | $826 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 16 | $377 |
| Abiomed | 3 | $175 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 4 | $162 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 1 | $123 |
| Getinge USA Sales, LLC | 3 | $111 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 1 | $35 |
| BD | 1 | $33 |
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
$5,841 in reported general payments places this provider in the 50th percentile of 132 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in North Carolina.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) 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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 13 | $12,158 |
| Warfarin Sodium | 31 | $305 |
| Metoprolol Tartrate | 17 | $66 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Concord
- Joseph RubelowskyRaleigh$2.2M
- Matthew HartwigDurham$406K
- Gregory SmaroffNew Bern$205K
- David HarpoleDurham$177K
- Carmelo MilanoLumberton$169K
- Walter ChitwoodGreenville$139K
- Michael MillChapel Hill$137K
- Eric SkipperCharlotte$132K
- Brett StarrHickory$95K
- Thomas D AmicoDurham$94K
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.