Vern Christensen, DPM
Foot Surgery · Amory, MSNPI 1083674378
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — education (48.9%), travel and lodging and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 9 manufacturers reported payments, led by Treace Medical Concepts, Inc. at 42.0% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2022 at $2,768 and has fallen 67.0% since, to $914 in 2025.
Across 23 payments — averaging $220.85 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Treace Medical Concepts, Inc.$2K
- Arthrex$1K
- Gentleman Orthopedic Solutions$1K
- GRT US Holding, Inc.$90
- Rikco International, LLC$83
- Melinta Therapeutics, LLC$38
- plus $58 from 3 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,90838%
- Food & beverage$68914%
- Education$2,48349%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Treace Medical Concepts, Inc. | 9 | $2,133 |
| Arthrex | 5 | $1,478 |
| Gentleman Orthopedic Solutions | 1 | $1,200 |
| GRT US Holding, Inc. | 1 | $90 |
| Rikco International, LLC | 2 | $83 |
| Melinta Therapeutics, LLC | 2 | $38 |
| Averitas Pharma Inc. | 1 | $36 |
| Crossroads Extremity Systems, LLC | 1 | $15 |
| Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation Inc. | 1 | $7 |
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.
- Lapiplasty System$1,175
- Lapiplasty$680
How this compares
Too few foot surgery providers in Mississippito 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ketoconazole | 40 | $831 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 72 | $685 |
| Promethazine Hcl | 44 | $269 |
| Lidocaine-PrilocaineLidocaine/Prilocaine | 19 | $247 |
| Cephalexin | 24 | $207 |
| Methylprednisolone | 13 | $75 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other foot surgery in Amory
- Charles CaplisOcean Springs$9K
- Robert ApplingSouthaven$4K
- Mary CookBiloxi$2K
- Robert HurstCorinth$1K
- Robert WenzlerSouthaven$1K
- Renita ShawWiggins$761
- Jeffrey BenzingBay St Louis$550
- Michael de MarcoPoplarville$405
- Lawrence TamburinoBrandon$295
- Vanessa MirasolBiloxi$128
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.