Robert Austin, PA
Surgical · Knoxville, TNNPI 1578961967
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
16 manufacturers reported payments, led by Johnson & Johnson at 50.4% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $897 and has fallen 86.4% since, to $122 in 2025.
Across 27 payments — averaging $46.73 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Johnson & Johnson$635
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$199
- Joint Restoration Foundation, Inc.$83
- Vertex$77
- Abbott$45
- Pacira Therapeutics, Inc.$31
- plus $192 from 10 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$56745%
- Food & beverage$69555%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 4 | $635 |
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 3 | $199 |
| Joint Restoration Foundation, Inc. | 1 | $83 |
| Vertex | 1 | $77 |
| Abbott | 3 | $45 |
| Pacira Therapeutics, Inc. | 2 | $31 |
| AbbVie | 2 | $30 |
| Fidia Pharma USA Inc. | 2 | $30 |
| Bioventus LLC | 2 | $24 |
| Smith+Nephew | 1 | $20 |
| Convatec Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| DJO, LLC | 1 | $16 |
| Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Amgen | 1 | $13 |
| Heron Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $12 |
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.
- Velys$252
How this compares
$1,262 in reported general payments places this provider in the 70th percentile of 206 surgical 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Celecoxib | 81 | $614 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 61 | $462 |
| Meloxicam | 143 | $367 |
| Methylprednisolone | 46 | $350 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 34 | $329 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 56 | $324 |
| Ondansetron Hcl | 40 | $293 |
| Cefadroxil | 38 | $254 |
| Pregabalin | 23 | $133 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 29 | $120 |
| Dexamethasone | 31 | $119 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 16 | $78 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 27 | $73 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other surgical in Knoxville
- Jennie ClarkKnoxville$5K
- Christopher DalbyKnoxville$4K
- Kristen PriceKnoxville$3K
- Zachary SwansonKnoxville$2K
- Matthew GreinerKnoxville$2K
- Cody FieldsKnoxville$2K
- Cynthia HaneyKnoxville$2K
- Adam BuzzerdKnoxville$2K
- Sara KaniperKnoxville$1K
- Jodi JansKnoxville$1K
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.