Thomas Watts, MD
Interventional Cardiology · Little Rock, ARNPI 1457619884
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by grants: $60,500 of the $67,660 with a category attached, or 89.4%. 25 manufacturers reported payments, led by Edwards Lifesciences at 58.4% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2020 at $61,908 and has fallen 96.8% since, to $1,992 in 2025. Among interventional cardiology clinicians in AR 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 161 payments — averaging $420.25 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Edwards Lifesciences$39K
- Boston Scientific$13K
- Medtronic$12K
- Abbott$2K
- Abiomed$310
- Novartis$245
- plus $1K from 19 others
Across 3 payments — averaging $3733.76 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.
- Boston Scientific$11K
What the payments were for
- Grants$60,50089%
- Travel & lodging$1,9063%
- Food & beverage$5,2388%
- Education$160%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Edwards Lifesciences | 21 | $39,491 |
| Boston Scientific | 13 | $13,030 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 39 | $11,912 |
| Abbott | 15 | $1,602 |
| Abiomed | 5 | $310 |
| Novartis | 18 | $245 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 10 | $232 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 1 | $141 |
| Philips North America LLC | 4 | $116 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 6 | $95 |
| Pfizer | 6 | $93 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 5 | $70 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 2 | $56 |
| Irhythm Technologies, Inc. | 2 | $36 |
| AbbVie | 2 | $36 |
| Angiodynamics, Inc. | 1 | $27 |
| Merck | 2 | $25 |
| Heartflow, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Ancora Heart, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Amgen | 2 | $23 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $16 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Eisai Inc. | 1 | $11 |
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
$67,660 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 89 interventional cardiology providers in Arkansas.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 395 | $347,820 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 132 | $119,226 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 140 | $92,872 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 60 | $52,315 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 19 | $12,287 |
| BrilintaTicagrelor | 13 | $9,429 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 336 | $4,060 |
| Prasugrel Hcl | 23 | $3,766 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 270 | $2,959 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 326 | $2,957 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 372 | $2,836 |
| Ranolazine ErRanolazine | 39 | $2,498 |
| Losartan Potassium | 286 | $2,458 |
| Carvedilol | 299 | $2,269 |
| Midodrine Hcl | 26 | $2,200 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $93 | $347,820395 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $245 | $119,226132 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $16 | $52,31560 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 89 interventional cardiology providers in Arkansas.
Other interventional cardiology in Little Rock
- Gaurav DharLittle Rock$206K
- Ernesto Ruiz-RodriguezLittle Rock$153K
- Vasili LendelLittle Rock$86K
- Vijay RajaLittle Rock$46K
- Stephen BroughtonLittle Rock$34K
- Mahesh Anantha NarayananLittle Rock$26K
- Aravind RaoLittle Rock$17K
- Patrick TobbiaLittle Rock$14K
- Subhi AlarefLittle Rock$13K
- Hamza RayesLittle Rock$10K
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.