Ramana Podugu, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Canton, OHNPI 1023097003
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 98.5% of the total across 34 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 15 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 23.6% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2020 at $176 and has fallen 57.0% since, to $75 in 2024. That places this record below the midpoint for cardiovascular disease clinicians in OH, where the typical reported total is $1,347.
Across 34 payments — averaging $15.80 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Novartis$127
- AstraZeneca$99
- Amgen$73
- Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC$55
- Pfizer$36
- Daiichi Sankyo Inc.$24
- plus $122 from 9 others
Across 74 payments — averaging $4863.41 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.
- Novartis$224K
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.kg$42K
- Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH$37K
- Merck$36K
- Esperion Therapeutics, Inc.$21K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$82%
- Food & beverage$52998%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novartis | 8 | $127 |
| AstraZeneca | 6 | $99 |
| Amgen | 5 | $73 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 3 | $55 |
| Pfizer | 2 | $36 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 1 | $20 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Novo Nordisk | 1 | $18 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $13 |
| Cardiva Medical, Inc. | 1 | $13 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 1 | $12 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 1 | $11 |
| Merck | 1 | $10 |
| Z-medica, LLC | 1 | $8 |
How this compares
$537 in reported general payments places this provider in the 30th percentile of 827 cardiovascular disease providers in Ohio.
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 | 686 | $749,100 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 297 | $341,848 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 232 | $290,990 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 89 | $101,059 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 51 | $34,252 |
| BrilintaTicagrelor | 39 | $24,248 |
| MultaqDronedarone Hcl | 19 | $21,028 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 946 | $17,136 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 726 | $8,809 |
| Diltiazem 24hr Er (Cd)Diltiazem Hcl | 138 | $5,988 |
| Dofetilide | 32 | $4,618 |
| Ranolazine ErRanolazine | 40 | $3,675 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 313 | $3,459 |
| Losartan Potassium | 329 | $3,322 |
| Metoprolol Tartrate | 376 | $2,646 |
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 | $36 | $749,100686 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $13 | $341,848297 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $127 | $290,990232 claims |
| AstraZenecaBrilinta | $99 | $24,24839 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCMultaq | $55 | $21,02819 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 30th percentile of 827 cardiovascular disease providers in Ohio.
Other cardiovascular disease in Canton
- Steven HirschCanton$46K
- Guilherme AttizzaniCleveland$1.3M
- Gregory LamCircleville$428K
- Emil HayekHudson$379K
- Abraham LincoffCleveland$369K
- Oussama WazniCleveland$367K
- Ian NeelandCleveland$329K
- Kamal ShemisaCincinnati$314K
- Mehdi ShishehborElyria$237K
- Abdu HawwaGarfield Hts$234K
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.