Thomas Buzbee, MD
Internal Medicine · Tyler, TXNPI 1770682619
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $102,128 of the $116,212 with a category attached, or 87.9%. Amgen accounts for 89.9% of it on its own, with 48 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $31,965 and has fallen 50.3% since, to $15,885 in 2025. Among internal medicine clinicians in TX 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 945 payments — averaging $122.98 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Amgen$104K
- Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC$4K
- AbbVie$2K
- Novo Nordisk$1K
- Pfizer$926
- Merck$738
- plus $3K from 43 others
Across 98 payments — averaging $1358.43 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.
- American Regent$73K
- Esperion Therapeutics, Inc.$47K
- Regeneron$14K
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$102,12888%
- Travel & lodging$1,5491%
- Food & beverage$12,40311%
- Education$1320%
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.
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
$116,212 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 7,675 internal medicine providers in Texas.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| OzempicSemaglutide | 570 | $671,264 |
| EliquisApixaban | 829 | $465,806 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 280 | $189,778 |
| MounjaroTirzepatide | 158 | $184,979 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 211 | $161,234 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 243 | $158,532 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 172 | $142,650 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 101 | $90,834 |
| MyrbetriqMirabegron | 158 | $71,561 |
| TrulicityDulaglutide | 50 | $70,881 |
| JanuviaSitagliptin Phosphate | 79 | $70,426 |
| NuedextaDextromethorphan Hbr/Quinidine | 85 | $70,302 |
| RybelsusSemaglutide | 72 | $55,741 |
| RexultiBrexpiprazole | 45 | $52,968 |
| Repatha SyringeEvolocumab | 79 | $50,571 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novo NordiskOzempic, Rybelsus | $1,239 | $727,005642 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $926 | $465,806829 claims |
| Lilly USA, LLCMounjaro, Trulicity | $66 | $255,860208 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto, Invokana | $110 | $182,536278 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $47 | $161,234211 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $86 | $142,650172 claims |
| MerckJanuvia, Janumet, Janumet Xr | $738 | $110,842145 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta, Breo Ellipta | $125 | $109,857127 claims |
| Astellas Pharma US IncMyrbetriq | $278 | $71,561158 claims |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.Rexulti | $14 | $52,96845 claims |
| AbbVieLinzess | $1,619 | $46,45058 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCMultaq | $3,922 | $39,08255 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 95th percentile of 7,675 internal medicine providers in Texas.
Other internal medicine in Tyler
- Spencer BerthelsenSugar Land$891K
- Hameed AliTemple$773K
- Marc TribbleDallas$693K
- Gary SinclairDallas$599K
- Mohammed Al-NajjarEl Paso$586K
- Han SchmidlyDallas$465K
- Hussein TawbiHouston$365K
- Hans LeeHouston$327K
- Tapan KadiaHouston$311K
- Nitin JainHouston$281K
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.