Vikram Rao, MD
Neurology · San Francisco, CANPI 1316106859
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by consulting fees: $85,088 of the $105,877 with a category attached, or 80.4%. Neuropace, Inc. accounts for 91.8% of it on its own, with 7 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $30,610 and has fallen 72.9% since, to $8,309 in 2025. Among neurology clinicians in CA 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 136 payments — averaging $778.51 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Neuropace, Inc.$97K
- Livanova USA, Inc.$8K
- Vertex$427
- SK Life Science, Inc.$118
- Zimmer Biomet$57
- Medtronic$43
- plus $76 from 2 others
Across 8 payments — averaging $4085.72 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.
- Medtronic$27K
- Neuropace, Inc.$5K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$85,08880%
- Speaking & faculty fees$7,7157%
- Travel & lodging$5,9266%
- Food & beverage$4,7124%
- Education$2,4362%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Neuropace, Inc. | 117 | $97,148 |
| Livanova USA, Inc. | 11 | $8,009 |
| Vertex | 1 | $427 |
| SK Life Science, Inc. | 1 | $118 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 1 | $57 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 2 | $43 |
| Penumbra, Inc. | 2 | $40 |
| Neurelis, Inc. | 1 | $36 |
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.
- RNS System$71,231
- RNS Neurostimulator Kit$24,611
- VNS - Sentiva$4,796
- VNS THERAPY SENTIVA MODEL 1000 GENERATOR$3,042
How this compares
$105,877 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 1,996 neurology providers in California.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AptiomEslicarbazepine Acetate | 23 | $85,521 |
| EpidiolexCannabidiol (Cbd) | 13 | $39,475 |
| ValtocoDiazepam | 21 | $37,081 |
| Clobazam | 85 | $22,233 |
| XcopriCenobamate | 11 | $20,072 |
| VimpatLacosamide | 13 | $18,951 |
| Lacosamide | 79 | $9,833 |
| Levetiracetam | 112 | $8,088 |
| Lamotrigine ErLamotrigine | 26 | $7,675 |
| Diazepam | 12 | $4,403 |
| DilantinPhenytoin Sodium Extended | 20 | $3,835 |
| Oxcarbazepine | 48 | $3,691 |
| Clorazepate Dipotassium | 17 | $3,649 |
| Lamotrigine | 49 | $3,063 |
| Zonisamide | 43 | $2,153 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Neurelis, Inc.Valtoco | $36 | $37,08121 claims |
| SK Life Science, Inc.Xcopri | $118 | $20,07211 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 1,996 neurology providers in California.
Other neurology in San Francisco
- S Claiborne JohnstonSan Francisco$576K
- Armen MoughamianSan Francisco$554K
- Scott ZamvilSan Francisco$447K
- Bruce CreeSan Francisco$412K
- Kenneth LaxerSan Francisco$379K
- Jonathan KatzSan Francisco$294K
- Nada HindiyehSan Francisco$268K
- Douglas GoodinSan Francisco$227K
- Andrew BlumenfeldCarlsbad$4.9M
- Khashayar DashtipourLoma Linda$3.3M
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.