Ruth Benca
Psychiatry · Winston Salem, NCNPI 1932175940
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by consulting fees: $99,954 of the $114,355 with a category attached, or 87.4%. It is spread thinly across 9 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 22.8%. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $34,052 and has fallen 66.5% since, to $11,407 in 2025. Among psychiatry clinicians in NC 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.
Across 94 payments — averaging $1216.54 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Eisai Inc.$26K
- Alkermes, Inc.$25K
- Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc$18K
- Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc.$17K
- Merck$11K
- Sage Therapeutics, LLC$7K
- plus $11K from 3 others
Across 21 payments — averaging $19,851 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.
- Eisai Inc.$375K
- Alkermes, Inc.$31K
- Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc$10K
- Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc.$413
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$99,95487%
- Speaking & faculty fees$5,0304%
- Travel & lodging$7,3786%
- Food & beverage$1,9932%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Eisai Inc. | 17 | $26,049 |
| Alkermes, Inc. | 17 | $24,703 |
| Idorsia Pharmaceuticals US Inc | 13 | $18,099 |
| Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 15 | $17,396 |
| Merck | 19 | $10,692 |
| Sage Therapeutics, LLC | 8 | $6,805 |
| Genentech, Inc. | 2 | $4,230 |
| Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2 | $3,280 |
| Biogen | 1 | $3,101 |
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
$114,355 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 1,108 psychiatry providers in North Carolina.
Other psychiatry in Winston Salem
- Brian FarahWinston Salem$605K
- Richard JacksonWinston Salem$92K
- Adam McDonoughWinston Salem$69K
- Martha ShupingWinston Salem$67K
- Craig ChepkeHuntersville$4.1M
- Mark ReynoldsDurham$3.2M
- James BarkerHickory$2.1M
- Krishna TalluriMorrisville$591K
- Ramesh GihwalaGastonia$545K
- Keshavpal ReddyGreensboro$480K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.