Has Robert Tonks, MD received payments from drug or device companies?

Yes. Drug and device makers reported $1,253,383 in general payments to Robert Tonks, MD across 138 transactions between 2019–2025. Most Open Payments records nationally are meals worth under $20; a reported payment is not evidence of wrongdoing.

Does a payment mean Robert Tonks, MD did something wrong?

No. Federal law requires drug and device makers to report almost every transfer of value to a physician, including a $14 sandwich at a lunch presentation. Consulting fees, research funding and royalties to device inventors are ordinary, legal parts of medicine. This site reports what was disclosed; it makes no allegation.

Where does this information about Robert Tonks, MD come from?

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Payments come from Open Payments, published under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act. Billing and prescribing figures come from the Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners and Part D Prescriber public use files for 2024.

Robert Tonks, MD

Orthopaedic Trauma · la Jolla, CANPI 1659395671

Payments from drug & device makers

What this record shows

This record is dominated by royalties or licence payments: $1,217,001 of the $1,253,383 with a category attached, or 97.1%. Arthrex accounts for 98.1% of it on its own, with 14 other manufacturers making up the rest. 2025 is the largest year on record at $283,101, 4.6 times the $61,019 reported in 2019. Among orthopaedic trauma clinicians in CA with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.

$1,253,383in general payments, 2019–2025

Across 138 payments — averaging $9082.48 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.

Arthrex$1.2M
Flower Orthopedics Coporation$16K
Conventus Orthopaedics, Inc.$3K
Impactortho, Inc.$1K
Zimmer Biomet$695
Kls-martin L.p.$587
plus $1K from 9 others

What the payments were for

Royalty or licence$1,217,00197%
Consulting fees$14,8521%
Speaking & faculty fees$7,8751%
Travel & lodging$4,4470%
Food & beverage$6,6731%
Education$2,5350%

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
Arthrex	82	$1,230,192
Flower Orthopedics Coporation	21	$16,224
Conventus Orthopaedics, Inc.	1	$3,000
Impactortho, Inc.	1	$1,200
Zimmer Biomet	5	$695
Kls-martin L.p.	3	$587
Davol Inc.	6	$418
Stryker	11	$282
Orthofix Medical, Inc.	1	$162
Johnson & Johnson	2	$143
Trimed, Inc.	1	$135
Innovation Technologies Inc	1	$129
Biotissue Holdings Inc.	1	$104
Kerecis Limited	1	$90
Osteocentric Technologies, 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.

ARTHREX$5,178,149
DISTAL EXTREMITIES IMPLANTS HINDFOOT & ANKLE ANKLE FRACTURE$96,725
DISTAL EXTREMITIES IMPLANTS TRAUMA ANKLE FRACTURE$69,564
DISTAL EXTREMITIES INSTRUMENTS TRAUMA HINDFOOT & ANKLE TRAUMA$69,416
DISTAL EXTREMITIES INSTRUMENTS DEVICE SPECIFIC INSTRUMENTS HINDFOOT & ANKLE$44,215
cage$3,000
Flex-Thread Ulna$2,681
Fibula Nail, 3.5mm x 130mm, Titanium, Flex-Thread$1,996
Fibula Nail, 4.5mm x 130mm, Titanium, Flex-Thread$1,996
Fibula Nail, 4.5mm x 180mm, Titanium, Flex-Thread$1,996
Fibula Nail, 3.5mm x 180mm, Titanium, Flex-Thread$1,996
ZERO Profile Interlocking Cortex Screw, 2.7mm x 14mm, T8, Flex-Thread$1,996
SHOULDER SUTURE FIBERWIRE CERCLAGE$1,500
Affixus$302
PHOENIX$175
FITBONE$162
Persona$151
Irrisept$129
DISTAL EXTREMITIES IMPLANTS HINDFOOT & ANKLE ACHILLES$124
FIBERGRAFT BG Morsels$119

How this compares

$1,253,383 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 106 orthopaedic trauma providers in California.

See all orthopaedic trauma providers in California →

Medicare billing

Part B allowed, 2024

$390,513

Medicare patients

304

Services billed

1,217

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	45	$688
Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen	34	$289
Gabapentin	20	$265
Tramadol Hcl	17	$144

Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.

Other orthopaedic trauma in la Jolla

Michael GardnerStanford$2.9M
Aaron OsborneRedding$1.3M
John ScolaroOrange$1M
David LowenbergSan Francisco$788K
Eric LindvallClovis$609K
Christopher LeeLos Angeles$475K
Joshua GaryLos Angeles$466K
Christopher HoshinoTorrance$356K
Julius BishopStanford$349K
Mark LeeSacramento$287K

See the full list for California →

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.

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