Thomas Williams, MD
Ophthalmology · Hickory, NCNPI 1750345443
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (57.7%), travel and lodging and speaking fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 22 manufacturers reported payments, led by Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. at 40.3% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $2,185 and has fallen 78.6% since, to $468 in 2025.
Across 96 payments — averaging $46.08 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.$2K
- Genentech USA, Inc.$497
- Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.$261
- Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$233
- Notal Vision, Inc.$218
- Alimera Sciences, Inc.$217
- plus $1K from 16 others
Across 296 payments — averaging $6111.33 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.
- Genentech, Inc.$1.4M
- Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$311K
- Janssen Research & Development, LLC$62K
- Regeneron$28K
- Notal Vision, Inc.$6K
- Novartis$726
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$912%
- Travel & lodging$1,78240%
- Food & beverage$2,55158%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. | 4 | $1,782 |
| Genentech USA, Inc. | 16 | $497 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 13 | $261 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 10 | $233 |
| Notal Vision, Inc. | 5 | $218 |
| Alimera Sciences, Inc. | 11 | $217 |
| Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision, Inc. | 3 | $195 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 8 | $171 |
| Genentech, Inc. | 1 | $154 |
| Dutch Ophthalmic, USA | 5 | $148 |
| Regeneron | 1 | $109 |
| ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 3 | $87 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 3 | $73 |
| Novartis | 3 | $54 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 2 | $40 |
| Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2 | $38 |
| Alcon | 1 | $36 |
| Rayner Intraocular Lenses Limited | 1 | $26 |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $25 |
| Eyepoint US, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec USA, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Sight Sciences, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
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.
- SOMATOM Force$1,764
- Non-Covered Product$154
- Tecnis IOL$124
- EYLEA$109
How this compares
$4,424 in reported general payments places this provider in the 75th percentile of 588 ophthalmology providers in North Carolina.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Prednisolone Acetate | 37 | $927 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 44 | $275 |
| Latanoprost | 18 | $236 |
| Timolol Maleate | 25 | $158 |
| Diazepam | 11 | $12 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other ophthalmology in Hickory
- Preeya GuptaRaleigh$1.8M
- Julie WoodwardDurham$1M
- Rajiv ShahWinston Salem$909K
- Lejla VajzovicDurham$681K
- Karl StonecipherGreensboro$653K
- Terry KimDurham$605K
- Keith WalterWinston Salem$397K
- Leon HerndonDurham$230K
- Thomas MundorfCharlotte$220K
- Glenn JaffeDurham$218K
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.