Robert Patton, MD
Internal Medicine · Opelika, ALNPI 1831288901
Payments from drug & device makers
Across 230 payments — averaging $21.70 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Johnson & Johnson$1K
- Novo Nordisk$482
- AstraZeneca$293
- Pfizer$268
- Abbott$243
- Merck$235
- plus $2K from 34 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$4,992100%
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) | 60 | $1,022 |
| Novo Nordisk | 19 | $482 |
| AstraZeneca | 12 | $293 |
| Pfizer | 10 | $268 |
| Abbott | 7 | $243 |
| Merck | 9 | $235 |
| GSK | 8 | $224 |
| Evoke Pharma, Inc. | 14 | $218 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 4 | $175 |
| AbbVie | 10 | $175 |
| Amgen | 8 | $162 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 10 | $144 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 1 | $132 |
| Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC | 1 | $125 |
| Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 5 | $111 |
| Exact Sciences | 7 | $104 |
| Eisai Inc. | 1 | $80 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 3 | $78 |
| Bayer | 3 | $60 |
| Novartis | 4 | $59 |
| Nestle Healthcare Nutrition Inc. | 3 | $48 |
| Intuitive Surgical | 2 | $47 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 3 | $46 |
| Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $43 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 3 | $42 |
| Radius Health, Inc. | 2 | $41 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $38 |
| Philips North America LLC | 2 | $30 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 1 | $29 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 2 | $28 |
| Pharmacosmos Therapeutics Inc. | 1 | $27 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 2 | $26 |
| Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $26 |
| Braemar Manufacturing, LLC | 1 | $22 |
| BD | 1 | $20 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 1 | $20 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 1 | $20 |
| Gilead | 1 | $17 |
| Sanofi Pasteur Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc | 1 | $14 |
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.
- Zenith$132
- ELIQUIS$125
- Ozempic$125
- STELARA$125
- STEGLATRO$122
- FREESTYLE LIBRE 3$121
- XARELTO$120
- Vascepa$117
- TRELEGY ELLIPTA$103
How this compares
$4,992 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 1,533 internal medicine providers in Alabama.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| OzempicSemaglutide | 66 | $64,108 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 64 | $43,384 |
| EliquisApixaban | 47 | $37,434 |
| Tresiba Flextouch U-200Insulin Degludec | 44 | $26,735 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 17 | $22,260 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 22 | $22,192 |
| Janumet XrSitagliptin Phos/Metformin Hcl | 30 | $16,943 |
| Toujeo SolostarInsulin Glargine,hum.Rec.Anlog | 16 | $13,723 |
| Tresiba Flextouch U-100Insulin Degludec | 26 | $13,478 |
| Novolog FlexpenInsulin Aspart | 26 | $6,531 |
| Lantus SolostarInsulin Glargine,hum.Rec.Anlog | 51 | $6,076 |
| Losartan Potassium | 243 | $2,997 |
| Albuterol Sulfate HfaAlbuterol Sulfate | 50 | $2,340 |
| Valsartan | 50 | $2,309 |
| Levothyroxine Sodium | 121 | $2,126 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Companies that both paid and supply prescribed drugs
These companies both reported payments to this provider and make drugs the provider prescribed under Medicare Part D in 2024. For most specialties this overlap is expected — a cardiologist who is paid by a cardiology drugmaker also treats heart disease. It is shown so the reader can see it, not because it implies anything on its own.
| Company | Paid to this provider | Part D cost of their drugs |
|---|---|---|
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $482 | $64,10866 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $293 | $43,38464 claims |
| MerckJanuvia, Janumet Xr | $235 | $39,13552 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $268 | $37,43447 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $42 | $22,26017 claims |
Reading this fairly. The Part D column is what drug plans and patients paid pharmacies — this provider received none of it, and it reflects how many patients they treat and what those drugs cost. Against peers, this provider's reported payments sit in the 80th percentile of 1,533 internal medicine providers in Alabama.
Other internal medicine in Opelika
- Harry StuddardMobile$12.9M
- Almena FreeAnniston$12.7M
- Hayes WilliamsVestavia$10.4M
- David DeatkineBirmingham$8M
- James SullivanBirmingham$6M
- Ramy TomaBirmingham$5.1M
- Barry McLeanHomewood$4M
- William KirbyBirmingham$2.3M
- Saadat AnsariHuntsville$2.1M
- Gregory FlippoTrussville$1.6M
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.