Richard Kahlstrom, MD
Critical Care Medicine · Tacoma, WANPI 1093708992
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 2 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. accounts for 60.3% of it on its own, with 1 other manufacturer making up the rest. That places this record below the midpoint for critical care medicine clinicians in WA, where the typical reported total is $138.
Across 2 payments — averaging $18.96 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.$23
- Olympus America Inc.$15
Across 15 payments — averaging $20,030 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.
- Gilead$298K
- Boston Scientific$2K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$38100%
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Olympus America Inc. | 1 | $15 |
How this compares
$38 in reported general payments places this provider in the 20th percentile of 115 critical care medicine providers in Washington.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Albuterol Sulfate HfaAlbuterol Sulfate | 14 | $399 |
| Fluticasone Propionate | 11 | $390 |
| Prednisone | 12 | $138 |
| Montelukast Sodium | 13 | $49 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other critical care medicine in Tacoma
- Kurt JensenTacoma$6K
- Chelsea GarnerTacoma$5K
- Arthur KnodelTacoma$1K
- Praful TewariTacoma$939
- Ramon AnelTacoma$594
- Joshua SnavelyTacoma$345
- Fahad AlroumiTacoma$223
- Britta KumleyTacoma$198
- Amanda SchillingTacoma$154
- Vinay GuptaSeattle$185K
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.