Ralph Saunders, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery · Sparta, TNNPI 1518994441
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — travel and lodging (52.9%), education and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 12 manufacturers reported payments, led by Stryker at 26.7% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $6,605 and has fallen 98.4% since, to $105 in 2025.
Across 61 payments — averaging $163.49 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Stryker$3K
- Alpha Orthopedic Systems$2K
- Arthrex$2K
- Lima USA, Inc.$1K
- Zimmer Biomet$1K
- Nevro Corp.$337
- plus $511 from 6 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$5,27553%
- Food & beverage$1,99720%
- Education$2,70227%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Stryker(2 entities) | 21 | $2,660 |
| Alpha Orthopedic Systems | 5 | $2,152 |
| Arthrex | 4 | $1,752 |
| Lima USA, Inc. | 2 | $1,301 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 17 | $1,260 |
| Nevro Corp. | 1 | $337 |
| Boston Scientific | 2 | $234 |
| Smoky Mountain Surgical LLC | 4 | $167 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $38 |
| Globus Medical | 2 | $36 |
| Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Fidia Pharma USA Inc. | 1 | $16 |
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
$9,973 in reported general payments places this provider in the 65th percentile of 381 orthopaedic surgery 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mupirocin | 40 | $248 |
| Gabapentin | 19 | $169 |
| Sulfamethoxazole-TrimethoprimSulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim | 41 | $160 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 31 | $135 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 24 | $100 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 11 | $98 |
| Meloxicam | 11 | $71 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 15 | $36 |
| Lorazepam | 40 | $34 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other orthopaedic surgery in Sparta
- Paul BradyKnoxville$20M
- Edwin SpencerKnoxville$2.5M
- Jesse DotyChattanooga$2.3M
- Thomas ThrockmortonGermantown$1.7M
- Alton HunterColumbia$820K
- Jefferson MorrisonNashville$678K
- Michael BeebeMemphis$626K
- Gregory PolkowskiNashville$526K
- Matthew WillisNashville$498K
- Michael ChristieNashville$474K
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.