Thomas Pontinen, MD
Anesthesiology · Des Plaines, ILNPI 1467617514
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 90.7% of the total across 516 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 23 manufacturers reported payments, led by Electronic Waveform Lab, Inc. at 59.7% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $4,445 and has fallen 90.7% since, to $412 in 2025. Among anesthesiology clinicians in IL 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 516 payments — averaging $38.81 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Electronic Waveform Lab, Inc.$12K
- Abbott$4K
- Pacira Pharmaceuticals Incorporated$1K
- AbbVie$996
- Bioventus LLC$969
- Si-bone, Inc.$238
- plus $1K from 17 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,8559%
- Food & beverage$18,17191%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic Waveform Lab, Inc. | 358 | $11,956 |
| Abbott | 45 | $3,536 |
| Pacira Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | 12 | $1,264 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 56 | $996 |
| Bioventus LLC | 3 | $969 |
| Si-bone, Inc. | 5 | $238 |
| Vertiflex, Inc. | 1 | $150 |
| Pfizer | 7 | $147 |
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 8 | $144 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 3 | $140 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 2 | $92 |
| Vertex | 3 | $72 |
| Nalu Medical, Inc. | 1 | $71 |
| Medwest Associates | 1 | $57 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2 | $32 |
| Nevro Corp. | 1 | $31 |
| Biodelivery Sciences International, Inc. | 2 | $26 |
| Stratus Medical, LLC | 1 | $25 |
| Painteq LLC | 1 | $21 |
| Fidia Pharma USA Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Pacira Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $13 |
| Redhill Biopharma Inc. | 1 | $13 |
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.
- PROCLAIM$1,085
- Durolane$919
- Iovera$915
- ETERNA$792
- Proclaim IPG$399
- Proclaim Family of SCS IPGs$292
- Superion ISS$150
- iFuse Implant$104
- LUCEMYRA$102
How this compares
$20,025 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 1,980 anesthesiology providers in Illinois.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| OxycontinOxycodone Hcl | 16 | $22,966 |
| BotoxOnabotulinumtoxina | 14 | $19,109 |
| Xtampza ErOxycodone Myristate | 15 | $14,414 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 207 | $10,370 |
| BelbucaBuprenorphine Hcl | 11 | $8,125 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 98 | $4,691 |
| Morphine Sulfate ErMorphine Sulfate | 79 | $1,952 |
| Lidocaine | 13 | $1,372 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 43 | $860 |
| Tizanidine Hcl | 38 | $752 |
| Diclofenac Sodium | 17 | $661 |
| Gabapentin | 41 | $620 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 39 | $605 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 19 | $542 |
| Hydromorphone Hcl | 34 | $501 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.Xtampza Er, Belbuca | $144 | $22,53926 claims |
| AbbVieBotox | $996 | $19,10914 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 1,980 anesthesiology providers in Illinois.
Other anesthesiology in Des Plaines
- Andrei RakicDes Plaines$12K
- Darrel SaldanhaDes Plaines$10K
- Nishant ShahChicago$2.1M
- Tolga SuvarChicago$303K
- Fiaz AhmedArlington Heights$251K
- Dragan GastevskiChicago$240K
- Edward ObrienUrbana$167K
- Glenn MurphyEvanston$129K
- Randall OstroffBerwyn$103K
- Jeffery VenderEvanston$103K
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.