Thomas Hickernell, MD
Adult Reconstructive Orthopaedic Surgery · Stamford, CTNPI 1003259706
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (53.9%), food and beverage and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 18 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medical Device Business Services, Inc. at 54.7% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $18,767 and has fallen 60.1% since, to $7,486 in 2025.
Across 142 payments — averaging $317.31 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$25K
- Smith+Nephew$7K
- Depuy Synthes Products, Inc.$5K
- Zimmer Biomet$3K
- Stryker$2K
- Johnson & Johnson$1K
- plus $1K from 12 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$24,29254%
- Travel & lodging$7,50617%
- Food & beverage$7,96018%
- Education$5,30012%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 27 | $24,631 |
| Smith+Nephew | 15 | $6,935 |
| Depuy Synthes Products, Inc. | 20 | $4,974 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 32 | $3,293 |
| Stryker | 17 | $2,395 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 17 | $1,461 |
| Medacta USA, Inc. | 2 | $376 |
| Globus Medical | 1 | $142 |
| Amgen | 1 | $142 |
| Heron Therapeutics, Inc. | 2 | $138 |
| KCI USA, Inc. | 1 | $123 |
| Acell, Inc. | 1 | $119 |
| Sanara Medtech Inc. | 1 | $106 |
| Avanos Medical | 1 | $86 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $71 |
| Vertex | 1 | $27 |
| BD | 1 | $24 |
| Heraeus Medical, LLC. | 1 | $15 |
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.
- Velys$4,041
- MAKO$1,489
- Navio Surgical System$1,250
- Journey II XR$988
- ROSA$780
- Taperloc$697
- JII Unicondylar Knee System$621
- REDAPT Revision Hip System$538
- ATTUNE$455
- Avenir$413
- AMISTEM$376
- ACTIS$342
- PICO 7 Single Use Negative Pressure Wound Therapy$317
- Persona$249
- G7$171
- Continuum Shell$171
- T-Fix$170
- Journey II BCS$170
- Knees Product Portfolio$150
- TRIATHLON$150
How this compares
Too few adult reconstructive orthopaedic surgery providers in Connecticutto place this figure against a meaningful peer group, so we don't.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oxycodone Hcl | 45 | $258 |
| Diclofenac Sodium | 11 | $196 |
| Meloxicam | 86 | $113 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 21 | $79 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other adult reconstructive orthopaedic surgery in Stamford
- Jenna BernsteinTrumbull$273K
- Paul MurrayHartford$64K
- Christopher LynchBranford$48K
- Arthur ManoliWilton$25K
- Elie MansourNew Haven$24K
- Ryan CharetteWallingford$16K
- Derek ShiaHamden$7K
- Donald AllenHartford$7K
- Adam GreenNorth Franklin$6K
- Aidin Eslam PourWest Haven$5K
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.