Robert Sullivan, MD
Pain Medicine · Charleston, SCNPI 1538368923
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 102 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. Boston Scientific accounts for 83.5% of it on its own, with 10 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $1,337 and has fallen 78.3% since, to $291 in 2025.
Across 102 payments — averaging $45.94 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Boston Scientific$4K
- Abbott$173
- Biotronik Inc.$141
- Vertiflex, Inc.$120
- Curonix LLC$119
- Si-bone, Inc.$56
- plus $166 from 5 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$4,686100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Scientific | 84 | $3,912 |
| Abbott | 2 | $173 |
| Biotronik Inc. | 3 | $141 |
| Vertiflex, Inc. | 2 | $120 |
| Curonix LLC | 1 | $119 |
| Si-bone, Inc. | 2 | $56 |
| SPR Therapeutics, Inc | 3 | $48 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 2 | $41 |
| Tersera Therapeutics LLC | 1 | $32 |
| Nevro Corp. | 1 | $25 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
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.
How this compares
$4,686 in reported general payments places this provider in the 60th percentile of 92 pain medicine providers in South Carolina.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 87 | $2,411 |
| Gabapentin | 100 | $1,868 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 58 | $1,338 |
| Diclofenac Sodium | 20 | $898 |
| Morphine Sulfate ErMorphine Sulfate | 24 | $537 |
| Pregabalin | 29 | $423 |
| Methocarbamol | 39 | $287 |
| Tizanidine Hcl | 38 | $189 |
| Methylprednisolone | 17 | $75 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 26 | $74 |
| Meloxicam | 30 | $61 |
| Diazepam | 50 | $25 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other pain medicine in Charleston
- Andrew MendelsonCharleston$19K
- Martin BurkeCharleston$11K
- Ameet NagpalCharleston$9K
- Justin WikleCharleston$5K
- Derrick RandallCharleston$3K
- Edward TavelCharleston$2K
- Michael HillegassCharleston$2K
- Meron SelassieCharleston$2K
- Ann FoxxCharleston$1K
- Phillip SmithGreenville$303K
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.