Has Walter Lowe, MD received payments from drug or device companies?

Yes. Drug and device makers reported $1,443,814 in general payments to Walter Lowe, MD across 503 transactions between 2019–2025. Most Open Payments records nationally are meals worth under $20; a reported payment is not evidence of wrongdoing.

Does a payment mean Walter Lowe, MD did something wrong?

No. Federal law requires drug and device makers to report almost every transfer of value to a physician, including a $14 sandwich at a lunch presentation. Consulting fees, research funding and royalties to device inventors are ordinary, legal parts of medicine. This site reports what was disclosed; it makes no allegation.

Where does this information about Walter Lowe, MD come from?

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Payments come from Open Payments, published under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act. Billing and prescribing figures come from the Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners and Part D Prescriber public use files for 2024.

Walter Lowe, MD

Sports Medicine · Houston, TXNPI 1003996406

Payments from drug & device makers

What this record shows

The money is spread across several categories — royalties or licence payments (53.1%), speaking fees and consulting fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Arthrex accounts for 81.3% of it on its own, with 24 other manufacturers making up the rest. 2025 is the largest year on record at $365,820, 3.5 times the $105,959 reported in 2019. Among sports medicine clinicians in TX 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.

$1,443,814in general payments, 2019–2025

Across 503 payments — averaging $2870.41 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.

Arthrex$1.2M
Medinc Of Texas$158K
Sanara Medtech Inc.$87K
DJO, LLC$11K
Linvatec Corporation$6K
Stryker$4K
plus $4K from 19 others

What the payments were for

Royalty or licence$766,76453%
Consulting fees$314,06922%
Speaking & faculty fees$318,51822%
Travel & lodging$28,3492%
Food & beverage$15,5961%
Education$5170%

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
Arthrex	310	$1,174,033
Medinc Of Texas	64	$158,207
Sanara Medtech Inc.	22	$87,391
DJO, LLC	22	$11,321
Linvatec Corporation	37	$5,640
Stryker	18	$3,560
Miach Orthopaedics, Inc.	2	$687
Pharmaceutical Business Consultants Limited	2	$607
Newclip USA LLC	3	$566
Goode Surgical Inc	2	$297
Reel Surgical, Inc.	2	$203
Joint Restoration Foundation, Inc.	1	$183
Conetic Solutions, Inc.	3	$167
Impactortho, Inc.	2	$162
Medartis Inc.	1	$162
BREG, Inc	2	$133
Conmed Corporation	2	$127
Prodigy Surgical Distribution, Inc.	1	$120
Biorez, Inc.	1	$104
Acumed LLC	1	$65
Medwest Associates	1	$30
Johnson & Johnson	1	$18
Amgen	1	$17
Alafair Biosciences, Inc.	1	$7
Ossur Americas, Inc.	1	$6

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.

ARTHREX$3,480,045
CellerateRx$75,321
KNEE & HIP IMPLANTS SUSPENSORY FIXATION ACL TIGHTROPE$62,183
KNEE & HIP IMPLANTS MENISCAL REPAIR MENISCAL CINCH$5,000
LIVATEC KNEE PRESERVATION SYSTEM$3,102
KNEE & HIP IMPLANTS MENISCAL REPAIR SUTURE$3,000
KNEE & HIP INSTRUMENTS OTHER INSTRUMENTS MENISCAL REPAIR$3,000
ICONIX$2,346
BioBrace 23mm$1,434
LINVATEC KNEE PRESERVATION SYSTEM$276
LINVATEC SHOULDER ARTHROSCOPY$264
INSPACE$174
APTUS$162
ALPHAVENT$139
PROCARE Bracing & Supports$138
AIRCAST Bracing & Supports$138
1788$133
BIOLOGICS CONSUMABLES CARTILAGE REPAIR GRAFTNET$118
SALVATION$115
BioBrace 5mm$104

How this compares

$1,443,814 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 437 sports medicine providers in Texas.

See all sports medicine providers in Texas →

Medicare billing

Part B allowed, 2024

$8,768

Medicare patients

Services billed

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.

Other sports medicine in Houston

James GregoryHouston$565K
Robert FullickHouston$137K
Patrick McCullochHouston$136K
Joshua HarrisHouston$109K
Mark AdickesHouston$35K
Mufaddal GomberaHouston$33K
Robert FlanneryHouston$27K
David BrownHouston$27K
Ankur MehtaHouston$26K
Thomas DeberardinoSan Antonio$3.5M

See the full list for Texas →

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.

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