Robert Sterling, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery · Washington, DCNPI 1396782603
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (48.2%), speaking fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 15 manufacturers reported payments, led by Zimmer Biomet at 43.2% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $27,233 and has fallen 92.7% since, to $1,991 in 2025.
Across 109 payments — averaging $344.62 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Zimmer Biomet$16K
- Smith+Nephew$14K
- Regeneron$3K
- Encore Medical, LP$3K
- Microport Orthopedics Inc$537
- Stryker$351
- plus $1K from 9 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$18,09848%
- Speaking & faculty fees$8,62523%
- Travel & lodging$6,33117%
- Food & beverage$4,46412%
- Education$470%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Zimmer Biomet | 40 | $16,230 |
| Smith+Nephew | 29 | $13,955 |
| Regeneron | 1 | $2,660 |
| Encore Medical, LP | 15 | $2,551 |
| Microport Orthopedics Inc | 6 | $537 |
| Stryker | 4 | $351 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 4 | $303 |
| Supreme Orthopedic Systems, LLC | 3 | $211 |
| Medacta USA, Inc. | 1 | $150 |
| Davol Inc. | 1 | $150 |
| Biocomposites Inc | 1 | $143 |
| Integra Lifesciences Corporation | 1 | $141 |
| Si-bone, Inc. | 1 | $133 |
| Arteriocyte Medical Systems, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Pacira Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | 1 | $24 |
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.
- Journey II$39,625
- REAL INTELLIGENCE$9,599
- Oxford$7,863
- Legion$2,500
- DJO SURGICAL$2,122
- HIP7$974
- ROSA$607
- MPO Medial Pivot Knee$380
- Navio Surgical System$187
- BLUEPRINT PATIENT SPECIFIC INSTRUMENTATION$176
- AEQUALIS ASCEND FLEX$176
- AEQUALIS PERFORM REVERSED$176
- GMK Sphere Revision System$150
- LEGION TKS$145
- Stimulan$143
- TENOGLIDE$141
- CORI$124
- STRATAFIX$124
- Persona$118
- NA$113
How this compares
$37,564 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 46 orthopaedic surgery providers in District of Columbia.
See all orthopaedic surgery providers in District of Columbia →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Diclofenac Sodium | 78 | $1,006 |
| Celecoxib | 18 | $686 |
| Etodolac | 29 | $455 |
| Naproxen | 22 | $291 |
| Meloxicam | 51 | $131 |
| Mupirocin | 15 | $118 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other orthopaedic surgery in Washington
- Akhil KhannaWashington$2.1M
- Seyed KalantarWashington$886K
- Scott FaucettWashington$610K
- David LuttonWashington$375K
- Savyasachi ThakkarWashington$216K
- Joseph FergusonWashington$84K
- Ryan MurrayWashington$32K
- Robert HenshawWashington$24K
- Sandesh RaoWashington$21K
- James DebritzWashington$14K
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.