Virag Shah, MD
Hospice and Palliative Medicine · Tucson, AZNPI 1700834140
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 84 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 34 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 8.6% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Among hospice and palliative medicine clinicians in AZ 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 84 payments — averaging $29.23 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.$212
- Novartis$177
- AbbVie$173
- Boehringer Ingelheim$172
- AstraZeneca$157
- Merck$140
- plus $1K from 28 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$2,455100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. | 2 | $212 |
| Novartis | 4 | $177 |
| AbbVie | 9 | $173 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 4 | $172 |
| AstraZeneca | 6 | $157 |
| Merck | 4 | $140 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | 1 | $134 |
| Amgen | 7 | $133 |
| GSK | 7 | $115 |
| Scynexis, Inc. | 1 | $96 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $95 |
| Sanofi Pasteur Inc. | 4 | $85 |
| Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $76 |
| Lilly USA, LLC | 3 | $74 |
| Alkermes, Inc. | 1 | $72 |
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc. | 2 | $51 |
| CSL Behring | 2 | $50 |
| Aimmune Therapeutics, Inc. | 3 | $47 |
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 2 | $39 |
| Bayer | 2 | $34 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 2 | $33 |
| Biogen | 1 | $33 |
| Nestle Healthcare Nutrition Inc. | 2 | $31 |
| Novo Nordisk | 2 | $30 |
| Pfizer | 2 | $28 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $27 |
| Viiv Healthcare Company | 1 | $25 |
| Kyowa Kirin, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals, A Division Of Bausch Health US, LLC | 1 | $18 |
| Exact Sciences | 1 | $17 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 1 | $16 |
| ITI, Inc. (d/b/a Intra-cellular Therapies, Inc.) | 1 | $15 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| OVIK Health, LLC | 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.
How this compares
$2,455 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 43 hospice and palliative medicine providers in Arizona.
See all hospice and palliative medicine providers in Arizona →
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 | 177 | $81,362 |
| DescovyEmtricitabine/Tenofov Alafenam | 13 | $33,262 |
| IsentressRaltegravir Potassium | 13 | $30,103 |
| Trelegy ElliptaFluticasone/Umeclidin/Vilanter | 19 | $18,864 |
| GemtesaVibegron | 18 | $16,115 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 11 | $15,880 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 37 | $14,472 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 11 | $13,612 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 24 | $13,232 |
| Breztri AerosphereBudesonide/Glycopyr/Formoterol | 17 | $11,278 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 20 | $6,143 |
| BreynaBudesonide/Formoterol Fumarate | 14 | $3,598 |
| Gabapentin | 86 | $2,224 |
| Lantus SolostarInsulin Glargine,hum.Rec.Anlog | 13 | $2,185 |
| Duloxetine Hcl | 73 | $2,185 |
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 | $28 | $81,362177 claims |
| MerckIsentress | $140 | $30,10313 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Breztri Aerosphere | $157 | $24,89028 claims |
| GSKTrelegy Ellipta | $115 | $18,86419 claims |
| Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc.Gemtesa | $51 | $16,11518 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $172 | $14,47237 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $177 | $6,14320 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 43 hospice and palliative medicine providers in Arizona.
Other hospice and palliative medicine in Tucson
- Shana SemmensTucson$1K
- Kristen RundellTucson$18
- Andrew LatchmanSierra Vista$4K
- Nehan SherScottsdale$1K
- Tom FinkelsteinPhoenix$1K
- Michele McCormickShow Low$1K
- Joel EdelsteinPhoenix$1K
- Bianca BrunelliPhoenix$996
- Anne HendersonPhoenix$878
- Marla RejbiPhoenix$606
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.