Raymond Gaston, MD
Hand Surgery · Charlotte, NCNPI 1053334367
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by consulting fees: $307,955 of the $505,086 with a category attached, or 61.0%. 22 manufacturers reported payments, led by Stryker at 29.8% of the total. Among hand surgery clinicians in NC with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 414 payments — averaging $1220.02 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Stryker$150K
- Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.$88K
- Encore Medical, LP$82K
- Zimmer Biomet$36K
- Restor3d, Inc.$35K
- Depuy Synthes Products, Inc.$30K
- plus $85K from 16 others
Across 60 payments — averaging $2108.96 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.
- Axogen$90K
- PBC Biomed Inc$36K
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$1K
Across 1 payment — averaging $16,855 each. An ownership or investment interest held by the physician or an immediate family member.
- Restor3d, Inc.$17K
What the payments were for
- Royalty or licence$59,79712%
- Consulting fees$307,95561%
- Speaking & faculty fees$95,68519%
- Travel & lodging$32,0606%
- Food & beverage$8,5702%
- Education$1,0190%
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 | 124 | $150,296 |
| Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 86 | $87,596 |
| Encore Medical, LP | 68 | $82,102 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 45 | $35,816 |
| Restor3d, Inc. | 7 | $35,048 |
| Depuy Synthes Products, Inc. | 1 | $29,649 |
| Endo USA, Inc. | 12 | $21,386 |
| Integra Lifesciences Corporation | 8 | $16,111 |
| Pharmaceutical Business Consultants Limited | 10 | $12,994 |
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 4 | $12,489 |
| Checkpoint Surgical, Inc | 11 | $11,826 |
| Curvebeam LLC | 2 | $4,500 |
| Trimed, Inc. | 1 | $1,500 |
| Axogen | 17 | $1,498 |
| Peerless Surgical Inc. | 3 | $1,088 |
| Ossur Americas, Inc. | 7 | $727 |
| Pacira Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | 1 | $216 |
| Sonex Health, Inc. | 3 | $147 |
| Smith+Nephew | 1 | $34 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $30 |
| SPR Therapeutics, Inc | 1 | $20 |
| Medartis Inc. | 1 | $13 |
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.
- VARIAX$122,931
- DJO SURGICAL$110,065
- XIAFLEX$107,959
- DJO Surgical AltiVate Reverse$33,236
- AXSOS$20,750
- Alps Elbow$20,625
- DJO Surgical Discovery Elbow System$20,063
- DJO Surgical AltiVate Anatomic System$18,251
- CANNULATED SCREWS$17,875
- T2$14,500
- Alps Hand$14,375
- CONEXTIONS TR TENDON REPAIR SYSTEM-IMPLANT MECHANISM$12,324
- Checkpoint Stimulators$11,736
- Affixus$11,500
- INTEGRA$11,200
- DVR Crosslock Plates/Screws/Pegs$8,750
- SWANSON$8,324
- REMOTION$7,500
- FREEDOM WRIST$6,434
- REVERSE SHOULDER$6,434
How this compares
$505,086 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 79 hand 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Gabapentin | 28 | $570 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 25 | $146 |
| Cephalexin | 17 | $67 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other hand surgery in Charlotte
- Ryan GarciaCharlotte$381K
- Erika GanttCharlotte$9K
- Michael AversanoCharlotte$2K
- John GaulCharlotte$825
- William WardCharlotte$745
- Peter WatersCharlotte$475
- Christpher KliftoDurham$575K
- Richard MooreWilmington$177K
- Erica TaylorRaleigh$97K
- Tyler PidgeonMorrisville$50K
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.