Robert Merritt, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Columbus, OHNPI 1508051319
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (46.9%), education and speaking fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 9 manufacturers reported payments, led by AstraZeneca at 46.7% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $16,900, 8.8 times the $1,926 reported in 2019.
Across 80 payments — averaging $614.97 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- AstraZeneca$23K
- Intuitive Surgical$21K
- Genentech USA, Inc.$2K
- F. Hoffmann-la Roche AG$1K
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$1K
- Galvanize Therapeutics, Inc$320
- plus $502 from 3 others
Across 3 payments — averaging $704.88 each. Payments tied to a research study. These frequently flow through the physician to a hospital or research institution rather than to the physician personally.
- F. Hoffmann-la Roche AG$2K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$23,07147%
- Speaking & faculty fees$5,86512%
- Travel & lodging$4,1388%
- Food & beverage$3,6237%
- Education$12,50025%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AstraZeneca | 21 | $22,998 |
| Intuitive Surgical | 41 | $21,139 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 2 | $1,751 |
| F. Hoffmann-la Roche AG | 2 | $1,415 |
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 7 | $1,074 |
| Galvanize Therapeutics, Inc | 3 | $320 |
| Genentech, Inc. | 2 | $210 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $154 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 1 | $137 |
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.
- IMFINZI$18,013
- Da Vinci Surgical System$17,775
- TECENTRIQ$3,231
- DA VINCI SP$2,500
- TAGRISSO$2,148
- ALIYA SYSTEM$306
- Signet$154
- ATRICURE CRYOICE CRYOABLATION SYSTEM (CRYO2)$137
How this compares
$49,198 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 245 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Ohio.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Ohio →
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 Columbus
- Daniel WatsonColumbus$946K
- Eric OkumColumbus$637K
- Desmond DsouzaColumbus$487K
- Peter KneuertzColumbus$115K
- Gregory RushingColumbus$91K
- Jefferson LyonsColumbus$72K
- Nahush MokadamColumbus$69K
- Bryan WhitsonColumbus$64K
- Matthew HennColumbus$56K
- Maziar KhorsandiColumbus$44K
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.