Robert Darling, MD
Otolaryngology · Friendswood, TXNPI 1588924104
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 73 payments — averaging $53.11 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$1K
- Aerin Medical Inc.$1K
- Inspire Medical Systems, Inc.$618
- Intersect ENT, Inc.$158
- Stryker$148
- Sanofi$122
- plus $297 from 8 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$40710%
- Travel & lodging$87623%
- Food & beverage$2,59567%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 20 | $1,301 |
| Aerin Medical Inc. | 16 | $1,233 |
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | 23 | $618 |
| Intersect ENT, Inc. | 2 | $158 |
| Stryker | 2 | $148 |
| Sanofi | 1 | $122 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 1 | $104 |
| Optinose US, Inc. | 2 | $57 |
| Itamar Medical Inc | 1 | $31 |
| Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $29 |
| Merck | 1 | $25 |
| Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA | 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.
- VIVAER STYLUS$825
- RHINAER STYLUS$825
- NUVENT$609
- Inspire$281
- DUPIXENT$244
- STEALTHSTATION S8 PLATFORM$129
- SCOPIS ENT$121
- Walter$104
How this compares
$3,877 in reported general payments places this provider in the 65th percentile of 729 otolaryngology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Azelastine Hcl | 166 | $5,737 |
| Ofloxacin | 62 | $4,722 |
| Fluticasone Propionate | 182 | $3,652 |
| Triamcinolone Acetonide | 16 | $2,932 |
| Ipratropium Bromide | 75 | $1,977 |
| Famotidine | 221 | $1,939 |
| Fluocinolone Acetonide Oil | 20 | $924 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 116 | $855 |
| Neomycin-Polymyxin-HydrocortNeomycin/Polymyxin B/Hydrocort | 18 | $587 |
| Diclofenac Sodium | 19 | $567 |
| Lidocaine Hcl ViscousLidocaine Hcl | 16 | $318 |
| Methylprednisolone | 44 | $281 |
| Mupirocin | 32 | $223 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 24 | $168 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other otolaryngology in Friendswood
- Laurence ChuAustin$37.4M
- Mark ZafereoHouston$7.8M
- Neil GrossHouston$1.5M
- Chad McDuffieFrisco$1.5M
- Ian AlexanderBoerne$999K
- Stephen LaiHouston$968K
- Benjamin CilentoSpring$963K
- Amber LuongHouston$793K
- Jeffrey RosenbloomSan Antonio$720K
- Masayoshi TakashimaHouston$644K
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.