Tao Chen, MD
Pain Medicine · Mobile, ALNPI 1316130743
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 99.9% of the total across 224 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 19 manufacturers reported payments, led by Forte Bio-pharma LLC at 31.2% of the total.
Across 224 payments — averaging $13.76 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Forte Bio-pharma LLC$961
- Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC$766
- Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.$585
- Providence Medical Technology, Inc.$219
- Valinor Pharma, LLC$72
- Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$69
- plus $410 from 13 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$3,079100%
- Education$30%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Forte Bio-pharma LLC | 85 | $961 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 63 | $766 |
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 42 | $585 |
| Providence Medical Technology, Inc. | 1 | $219 |
| Valinor Pharma, LLC | 4 | $72 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 5 | $69 |
| Biodelivery Sciences International, Inc. | 5 | $64 |
| GRT US Holding, Inc. | 1 | $62 |
| Pfizer | 4 | $55 |
| AstraZeneca | 4 | $53 |
| Pacira Therapeutics, Inc. | 2 | $48 |
| Biotronik NRO, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| IBSA Pharma Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Atland Pharmaceuticals, LLC | 1 | $18 |
| Azurity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Zyla Life Sciences, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $14 |
| Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC | 1 | $12 |
| Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 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.
How this compares
$3,082 in reported general payments places this provider in the 65th percentile of 77 pain medicine providers in Alabama.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| ProlateOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 95 | $184,629 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 2,608 | $146,297 |
| Xtampza ErOxycodone Myristate | 137 | $78,070 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 3,849 | $75,323 |
| Buprenorphine | 205 | $54,242 |
| RelistorMethylnaltrexone Bromide | 16 | $37,466 |
| MovantikNaloxegol Oxalate | 72 | $29,436 |
| LinzessLinaclotide | 43 | $26,713 |
| BelbucaBuprenorphine Hcl | 51 | $25,134 |
| OxycontinOxycodone Hcl | 35 | $16,952 |
| Gabapentin | 1,271 | $15,278 |
| Morphine Sulfate ErMorphine Sulfate | 619 | $14,923 |
| SavellaMilnacipran Hcl | 16 | $11,026 |
| Nucynta ErTapentadol Hcl | 24 | $10,849 |
| LyricaPregabalin | 12 | $10,457 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Forte Bio-pharma LLCProlate | $961 | $184,62995 claims |
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.Xtampza Er, Belbuca, Nucynta Er | $585 | $114,053212 claims |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLCRelistor | $766 | $37,46616 claims |
| PfizerLyrica | $55 | $10,45712 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 65th percentile of 77 pain medicine providers in Alabama.
Other pain medicine in Mobile
- Grant StoneMobile$11K
- Theodore KoppMobile$6K
- Anthony MaggioMobile$3K
- Ralph IrvinMobile$2K
- Cassie BurnsMobile$1K
- Christopher PaulBirmingham$64K
- Michael CosgroveHuntsville$25K
- Ron PitkanenMountain Brk$16K
- Elliott PenningtonDaphne$15K
- James ThackerHuntsville$13K
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.