Richard Link, MD
Urology · Houston, TXNPI 1518057595
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — education (47.0%), speaking fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Intuitive Surgical accounts for 96.7% of it on its own, with 12 other manufacturers making up the rest. Among urology clinicians in TX 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 274 payments — averaging $951.77 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Intuitive Surgical$252K
- Vascular Technology, Inc.$3K
- Histosonics, Inc.$2K
- Boston Scientific$2K
- KARL Storz Endoscopy-america$386
- Coloplast$276
- plus $211 from 7 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$6,7633%
- Speaking & faculty fees$104,62540%
- Travel & lodging$14,8506%
- Food & beverage$11,9395%
- Education$122,60047%
- Gifts$90%
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 | 246 | $252,212 |
| Vascular Technology, Inc. | 1 | $3,263 |
| Histosonics, Inc. | 2 | $2,282 |
| Boston Scientific | 12 | $2,156 |
| KARL Storz Endoscopy-america | 4 | $386 |
| Coloplast | 2 | $276 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $56 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 1 | $49 |
| Procept Biorobotics Corporation | 1 | $35 |
| Conmed Corporation | 1 | $22 |
| Ambu Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 1 | $16 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $15 |
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.
- Da Vinci Surgical System$239,983
- DA VINCI SP$10,150
- LithoVue$455
- TITAN$276
- GENERAL KIDNEY STONE DISEASE$230
- CMOS VIDEO URETEROSCOPE, 8.5 FR. X 700MM$222
- CYSTO-URETHRO-FIBERSCOPE$136
How this compares
$260,785 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 878 urology providers in Texas.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Potassium Citrate ErPotassium Citrate | 96 | $10,801 |
| Tamsulosin Hcl | 163 | $2,065 |
| Estradiol | 20 | $1,372 |
| Oxybutynin Chloride ErOxybutynin Chloride | 50 | $1,180 |
| NitrofurantoinNitrofurantoin Macrocrystal | 12 | $718 |
| Finasteride | 47 | $457 |
| Alfuzosin Hcl ErAlfuzosin Hcl | 13 | $227 |
| Oxybutynin Chloride | 17 | $219 |
| Ciprofloxacin Hcl | 20 | $150 |
| Sulfamethoxazole-TrimethoprimSulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim | 24 | $129 |
| Levofloxacin | 20 | $110 |
| Allopurinol | 15 | $108 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 38 | $88 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other urology in Houston
- Arun RaiHouston$920K
- Donald GriffithHouston$732K
- Jonathan Clavell HernandezHouston$500K
- Ashish KamatHouston$481K
- Mohit KheraHouston$428K
- Ricardo GonzalezHouston$314K
- Steven CanfieldHouston$256K
- Run WangHouston$195K
- Kathleen KobashiHouston$159K
- Steven MaislosHouston$158K
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.