Robert Wiechmann, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Eau Claire, WINPI 1659333953
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by education: $64,584 of the $68,044 with a category attached, or 94.9%. Intuitive Surgical accounts for 96.8% of it on its own, with 4 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $38,290 and has fallen 99.3% since, to $267 in 2024. Among thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in WI with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 71 payments — averaging $958.36 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Intuitive Surgical$66K
- Atricure, Inc.$2K
- Edwards Lifesciences$285
- Medistim USA, Inc.$134
- Medtronic$128
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$440%
- Food & beverage$3,4025%
- Education$64,58495%
- Gifts$140%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Intuitive Surgical | 39 | $65,893 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 26 | $1,604 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 3 | $285 |
| Medistim USA, Inc. | 1 | $134 |
| Medtronic | 2 | $128 |
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
$68,044 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 97 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Wisconsin.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Wisconsin →
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 Eau Claire
- Thomas CarmodyEau Claire$33K
- Mario GasparriMilwaukee$516K
- David DemosMilwaukee$446K
- William TisolMilwaukee$339K
- John JohnkoskiWausau$124K
- Ghulam MurtazaMadison$106K
- Robert FerranteAppleton$73K
- Justin WatsonMadison$35K
- Ronald MilesWausau$34K
- Paul SeifertMilwaukee$31K
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.