Ronald Caldwell, MD
Rheumatology · Hickory, NCNPI 1982656567
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 97.4% of the total across 455 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 32 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 23.7% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations.
Across 455 payments — averaging $18.16 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Amgen$2K
- AbbVie$1K
- Johnson & Johnson$732
- UCB, Inc.$577
- Novartis$575
- Pfizer$511
- plus $3K from 26 others
Across 2 payments — averaging $7325.00 each. Payments tied to a research study. These frequently flow through the physician to a hospital or research institution rather than to the physician personally.
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.$9K
- Eli Lilly$6K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$8,04397%
- Education$2183%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amgen(2 entities) | 113 | $1,955 |
| AbbVie | 68 | $1,094 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 32 | $732 |
| UCB, Inc. | 33 | $577 |
| Novartis | 29 | $575 |
| Pfizer | 35 | $511 |
| AstraZeneca(2 entities) | 25 | $444 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 19 | $305 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 12 | $277 |
| GSK | 16 | $262 |
| Organon | 9 | $204 |
| Sanofi | 8 | $200 |
| Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc. | 7 | $134 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 5 | $118 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 6 | $114 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 6 | $108 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 5 | $91 |
| Radius Health, Inc. | 4 | $88 |
| Sandoz | 3 | $74 |
| Sobi, Inc | 3 | $69 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 2 | $57 |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $49 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 2 | $44 |
| Antares Pharma, Inc. | 2 | $32 |
| Merck | 2 | $26 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $23 |
| Octapharma USA, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Pacira Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 1 | $15 |
| Assertio Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA | 1 | $12 |
How this compares
$8,261 in reported general payments places this provider in the 70th percentile of 210 rheumatology providers in North 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Humira(Cf) PenAdalimumab | 138 | $1,063,192 |
| RinvoqUpadacitinib | 163 | $1,039,235 |
| Xeljanz XrTofacitinib Citrate | 103 | $590,325 |
| Orencia ClickjectAbatacept | 75 | $424,993 |
| TremfyaGuselkumab | 27 | $357,039 |
| Enbrel SureclickEtanercept | 39 | $295,452 |
| EnbrelEtanercept | 33 | $259,647 |
| Cimzia (2 Pack)Certolizumab Pegol | 40 | $234,151 |
| KevzaraSarilumab | 44 | $191,706 |
| Cosentyx Sensoready (2 Pens)Secukinumab | 13 | $112,094 |
| OtezlaApremilast | 21 | $109,643 |
| SimponiGolimumab | 12 | $97,350 |
| Humira(Cf)Adalimumab | 11 | $88,408 |
| Taltz AutoinjectorIxekizumab | 12 | $88,106 |
| Actemra ActpenTocilizumab | 18 | $56,036 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieRinvoq, Humira(Cf) | $1,094 | $1,127,643174 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonTremfya, Simponi | $732 | $454,38939 claims |
| AmgenEnbrel, Otezla | $1,955 | $369,29054 claims |
| UCB, Inc.Cimzia (2 Pack) | $577 | $234,15140 claims |
| SanofiKevzara | $200 | $191,70644 claims |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc.Colchicine | $49 | $2,17122 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 70th percentile of 210 rheumatology providers in North Carolina.
Other rheumatology in Hickory
- Dayton PayneHickory$10K
- Gordon LamCharlotte$2.7M
- Ralph SnydermanDurham$1.3M
- Wendy SimmonsWilmington$462K
- Andrew LasterCharlotte$421K
- Ana RossRaleigh$417K
- Gwenesta MeltonFayetteville$410K
- Joseph ShanahanDurham$407K
- Jill ZouzoulasCharlotte$377K
- Jill VargoAsheville$245K
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.