Robert Ferguson, DO
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Kingsport, TNNPI 1326314808
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
11 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 32.4% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $2,382 and has fallen 96.0% since, to $95 in 2025.
Across 68 payments — averaging $81.82 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$2K
- Edwards Lifesciences$2K
- Intuitive Surgical$937
- Abiomed$700
- Johnson & Johnson$159
- Baxter Healthcare$125
- plus $212 from 5 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$2,67848%
- Food & beverage$2,88652%
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) | 38 | $1,805 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 8 | $1,626 |
| Intuitive Surgical | 6 | $937 |
| Abiomed | 5 | $700 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $159 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 1 | $125 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 5 | $99 |
| Medistim USA, Inc. | 1 | $59 |
| BD | 1 | $22 |
| Getinge USA Sales, LLC | 1 | $18 |
| Solventum Corporation | 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.
- Edwards SAPIEN 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve$1,136
- Da Vinci Surgical System$827
- Impella$676
- Valiant Captivia$578
- CG Future$169
- ECHELON ENDOPATH$159
- Octopus$125
- Mosaic$116
- Freestyle$114
How this compares
$5,564 in reported general payments places this provider in the 55th percentile of 115 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Tennessee.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular 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.
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Kingsport
- Stanley GallKingsport$4K
- Grayson WheatleyNashville$900K
- V ReddyNashville$760K
- Harvey GarrettMemphis$712K
- Mark BonnellChattanooga$141K
- Clayton KaiserNashville$124K
- Sreekumar SubramanianNashville$98K
- Erin GillaspieNashville$95K
- Amber EdwardsNashville$83K
- Danielle SenMemphis$52K
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.