Sergio Thal, MD
Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology · Tucson, AZNPI 1568591006
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (56.8%), speaking fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 23 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 49.6% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $4,133 and has fallen 75.2% since, to $1,027 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for clinical cardiac electrophysiology clinicians in AZ, where the typical reported total is $29,180.
Across 158 payments — averaging $75.74 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$6K
- Abbott$3K
- Biosense Webster, Inc.$1K
- Johnson & Johnson$509
- Boston Scientific$296
- Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc.$276
- plus $1K from 17 others
Across 24 payments — averaging $2748.67 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.
- Medtronic$55K
- Boston Scientific$11K
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$3,15026%
- Travel & lodging$2,02117%
- Food & beverage$6,79557%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 27 | $5,932 |
| Abbott | 31 | $2,588 |
| Biosense Webster, Inc. | 14 | $1,285 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 30 | $509 |
| Boston Scientific | 5 | $296 |
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 3 | $276 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 2 | $270 |
| Abiomed | 6 | $168 |
| Amgen | 6 | $99 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 6 | $93 |
| Pfizer | 6 | $77 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 4 | $63 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 3 | $53 |
| Novartis | 3 | $53 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 2 | $40 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 2 | $32 |
| Philips North America LLC | 2 | $30 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $25 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 1 | $17 |
| Merck | 1 | $15 |
| Lundbeck LLC | 1 | $15 |
| AstraZeneca | 1 | $15 |
| Novo Nordisk | 1 | $14 |
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.
- AVEIR$1,469
- Carto 3$1,006
- Micra$826
- Ensite Cardiac Mapping System$321
- AZURE XT DR MRI SURESCAN$272
- Cobalt$267
- OPTIMIZER$266
- SelectSecure$265
- LifeVest$250
- Evera$202
- Claria MRI$172
- PulseSelect$167
- ENSITE$133
- AURORA EV-ICD MRI SURESCAN$129
- OPTIMIZER SMART SYSTEM$125
- Assurity Pacemaker$122
- CartoSound$100
- Carto 3 System$100
- Confidense$100
How this compares
$11,967 in reported general payments places this provider in the 25th percentile of 80 clinical cardiac electrophysiology providers in Arizona.
See all clinical cardiac electrophysiology providers in Arizona →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 185 | $210,095 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 75 | $88,797 |
| Flecainide Acetate | 164 | $7,900 |
| Dofetilide | 21 | $4,786 |
| Amiodarone Hcl | 213 | $3,685 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 169 | $2,076 |
| Diltiazem 24hr Er (Cd)Diltiazem Hcl | 18 | $460 |
| SotalolSotalol Hcl | 12 | $439 |
| Metoprolol Tartrate | 42 | $179 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $77 | $210,095185 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $509 | $88,79775 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 25th percentile of 80 clinical cardiac electrophysiology providers in Arizona.
Other clinical cardiac electrophysiology in Tucson
- Aadhavi SridharanTucson$106K
- Mathew HutchinsonTucson$75K
- Jitender MunjalTucson$66K
- Darren PeressTucson$19K
- Mahesh Kumarr BalakrishnanTucson$18K
- Hymie FaitelsonTucson$12K
- Akash MakkarPhoenix$318K
- Jonathan WeissPhoenix$290K
- Ashish SadhuScottsdale$264K
- Yoaav KrauthammerPhoenix$238K
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.