Robert Cole, MD
Hand Surgery · Memphis, TNNPI 1144223256
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — gifts (31.7%), food and beverage and education — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 13 manufacturers reported payments, led by Aesculap Implant Systems, LLC at 31.7% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2020 at $1,511 and has fallen 93.9% since, to $92 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for hand surgery clinicians in TN, where the typical reported total is $3,914.
Across 23 payments — averaging $194.54 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Aesculap Implant Systems, LLC$1K
- Gentleman Orthopedic Solutions$1K
- Sonex Health, Inc.$684
- Skeletal Dynamics Inc$368
- Medartis Inc.$220
- One Surgical, Inc.$135
- plus $379 from 7 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$45110%
- Food & beverage$1,35530%
- Education$1,25128%
- Gifts$1,41732%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Aesculap Implant Systems, LLC | 1 | $1,417 |
| Gentleman Orthopedic Solutions | 2 | $1,270 |
| Sonex Health, Inc. | 3 | $684 |
| Skeletal Dynamics Inc | 4 | $368 |
| Medartis Inc. | 1 | $220 |
| One Surgical, Inc. | 1 | $135 |
| Amgen | 1 | $116 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $99 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $51 |
| Pacira Therapeutics, Inc. | 3 | $51 |
| Orthofix Medical, Inc. | 2 | $24 |
| Heron Therapeutics, Inc. | 2 | $21 |
| Heraeus Medical, LLC. | 1 | $18 |
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.
How this compares
$4,475 in reported general payments places this provider in the 50th percentile of 60 hand surgery 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 131 | $684 |
| Methylprednisolone | 42 | $279 |
| Cephalexin | 20 | $158 |
| Meloxicam | 16 | $46 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 21 | $28 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other hand surgery in Memphis
- Peter HenningMemphis$5K
- Daniel FletcherMemphis$2K
- John WilliamsMemphis$869
- Donald LeeNashville$546K
- Mihir DesaiNashville$110K
- Gleb MedvedevNashville$60K
- Brett SandersChattanooga$55K
- Todd RubinNashville$39K
- Jed MaslowNashville$29K
- Paul GormanJohnson City$24K
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.