Steven Akman, MD
Hematology & Oncology · Charleston, SCNPI 1396729414
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $414 of the $547 with a category attached, or 75.7%. 13 manufacturers reported payments, led by E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. at 25.8% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2020 at $381 and has fallen 85.6% since, to $55 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for hematology & oncology clinicians in SC, where the typical reported total is $4,020.
Across 21 payments — averaging $26.03 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$141
- Astellas Pharma US Inc$112
- Pfizer$56
- Daiichi Sankyo Inc.$55
- Lilly USA, LLC$33
- Dova Pharmaceuticals$22
- plus $127 from 7 others
Across 6 payments — averaging $4029.67 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.
- Seagen Inc.$24K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$41476%
- Education$13324%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 3 | $141 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 2 | $112 |
| Pfizer | 4 | $56 |
| Daiichi Sankyo Inc. | 2 | $55 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 2 | $33 |
| Dova Pharmaceuticals | 1 | $22 |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | 1 | $22 |
| Bayer | 1 | $21 |
| Sanofi | 1 | $19 |
| Seagen Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Pharmacyclics LLC, An Abbvie Company | 1 | $18 |
| Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc | 1 | $17 |
| AstraZeneca | 1 | $12 |
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.
- EMPLICITI$111
How this compares
$547 in reported general payments places this provider in the 15th percentile of 166 hematology & oncology providers in South 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 |
|---|---|---|
| IbrancePalbociclib | 11 | $176,694 |
| NubeqaDarolutamide | 12 | $163,716 |
| VerzenioAbemaciclib | 12 | $139,928 |
| EliquisApixaban | 25 | $16,815 |
| Letrozole | 93 | $1,494 |
| Imatinib Mesylate | 14 | $907 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 12 | $517 |
| Anastrozole | 23 | $423 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 13 | $357 |
| Dexamethasone | 17 | $315 |
| Ondansetron Hcl | 27 | $198 |
| LoperamideLoperamide Hcl | 13 | $191 |
| Gabapentin | 12 | $86 |
| Alendronate Sodium | 12 | $47 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerIbrance, Eliquis | $56 | $193,50936 claims |
| BayerNubeqa | $21 | $163,71612 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCVerzenio | $33 | $139,92812 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 15th percentile of 166 hematology & oncology providers in South Carolina.
Other hematology & oncology in Charleston
- Ming LimCharleston$94K
- George GeilsCharleston$76K
- Alexander ColtoffCharleston$51K
- Irl GreenwellCharleston$33K
- David EllisonCharleston$33K
- Shelly ShandCharleston$19K
- Nicholas SchmidtCharleston$18K
- George KeoghCharleston$18K
- Brian LingerfeltCharleston$15K
- James OrcuttCharleston$12K
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.