Samantha Shepherd
Gerontology · Bentonville, ARNPI 1144334343
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 38 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 7 manufacturers reported payments, led by Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. at 45.5% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $310 and has fallen 76.8% since, to $72 in 2025.
Across 38 payments — averaging $17.07 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$295
- Urovant Sciences Inc$99
- Novo Nordisk$86
- Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.$55
- Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.$51
- Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc.$47
- plus $17 from 1 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$649100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 21 | $295 |
| Urovant Sciences Inc | 5 | $99 |
| Novo Nordisk | 4 | $86 |
| Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. | 3 | $55 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 2 | $51 |
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc. | 2 | $47 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $17 |
How this compares
$649 in reported general payments places this provider in the 60th percentile of 89 gerontology providers in Arkansas.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| GemtesaVibegron | 220 | $53,507 |
| NuedextaDextromethorphan Hbr/Quinidine | 57 | $44,310 |
| EliquisApixaban | 65 | $22,179 |
| RexultiBrexpiprazole | 22 | $15,950 |
| TrulicityDulaglutide | 15 | $12,167 |
| Duloxetine Hcl | 236 | $7,995 |
| Divalproex Sodium | 76 | $4,150 |
| Mirtazapine | 60 | $2,466 |
| Quetiapine Fumarate | 56 | $2,454 |
| NovologInsulin Aspart | 27 | $2,167 |
| Basaglar Kwikpen U-100Insulin Glargine,hum.Rec.Anlog | 12 | $2,122 |
| Desvenlafaxine Succinate ErDesvenlafaxine Succinate | 21 | $2,004 |
| Gabapentin | 117 | $1,908 |
| LantusInsulin Glargine,hum.Rec.Anlog | 23 | $1,646 |
| Buspirone Hcl | 42 | $1,331 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc.Gemtesa | $47 | $53,507220 claims |
| Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Nuedexta | $295 | $44,31057 claims |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.Rexulti | $51 | $15,95022 claims |
| Novo NordiskNovolog | $86 | $2,16727 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 60th percentile of 89 gerontology providers in Arkansas.
Other gerontology in Bentonville
- Chasta Barbee-LumpkinBentonville$2K
- Tracy HolladayJonesboro$6K
- Rebekka AmickLittle Rock$6K
- Shawna FergusonJonesboro$5K
- Kathleen VasquezConway$5K
- Jennifer SmithJonesboro$5K
- Katherine RobertsonTexarkana$4K
- Tamera DouglasLittle Rock$3K
- Samantha WattLittle Rock$3K
- Waketta AldridgeJonesboro$3K
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.