William Smith, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Ruston, LANPI 1992776231
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 100.0% of the total across 459 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 39 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 12.8% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations.
Across 459 payments — averaging $16.74 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$985
- AstraZeneca$786
- Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC$538
- Johnson & Johnson$525
- Merck$479
- Boehringer Ingelheim$457
- plus $4K from 33 others
Across 20 payments — averaging $34,362 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.
- Biogen$549K
- Astrazeneca UK Limited$74K
- Organon$63K
- Eli Lilly$1K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$7,685100%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 82 | $985 |
| AstraZeneca | 42 | $786 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 34 | $538 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 48 | $525 |
| Merck | 23 | $479 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 26 | $457 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 31 | $450 |
| Novartis | 28 | $438 |
| Amgen | 22 | $360 |
| Pfizer | 23 | $343 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 11 | $230 |
| Bayer | 16 | $228 |
| Artivion, Inc. | 4 | $211 |
| Abiomed | 6 | $193 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 4 | $189 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 9 | $141 |
| Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc. | 7 | $124 |
| Amarin Pharma, Inc. | 6 | $105 |
| Irhythm Technologies, Inc. | 6 | $103 |
| UCB, Inc. | 1 | $98 |
| Penumbra, Inc. | 1 | $90 |
| Davol Inc. | 1 | $86 |
| Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc. | 3 | $65 |
| Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 3 | $58 |
| Silk Road Medical, Inc. | 2 | $56 |
| Novo Nordisk | 3 | $46 |
| Abbott | 2 | $44 |
| Boston Scientific | 2 | $39 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $31 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 2 | $30 |
| Itamar Medical Inc | 2 | $30 |
| GSK | 1 | $24 |
| Bridgebio Pharma, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 1 | $16 |
| Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $16 |
| Scpharmaceuticals Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Akcea Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $11 |
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
$7,685 in reported general payments places this provider in the 70th percentile of 281 cardiovascular disease providers in Louisiana.
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 | 748 | $527,911 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 353 | $295,171 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 162 | $124,632 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 163 | $88,591 |
| MultaqDronedarone Hcl | 93 | $86,818 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 111 | $85,558 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 100 | $65,262 |
| VascepaIcosapent Ethyl | 90 | $36,592 |
| BrilintaTicagrelor | 21 | $10,920 |
| Repatha SyringeEvolocumab | 11 | $9,273 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 581 | $7,031 |
| Praluent PenAlirocumab | 11 | $5,351 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 470 | $4,809 |
| Amiodarone Hcl | 309 | $4,510 |
| Spironolactone | 595 | $4,021 |
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 | $343 | $527,911748 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $438 | $295,171353 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $525 | $124,632162 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga, Brilinta | $786 | $96,478132 claims |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLCMultaq | $538 | $86,81893 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $457 | $65,262100 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 70th percentile of 281 cardiovascular disease providers in Louisiana.
Other cardiovascular disease in Ruston
- Keith FerdinandNew Orleans$239K
- Carl LavieNew Orleans$228K
- Imran ChaudryMonroe$202K
- Corey FosterLake Charles$158K
- George KaramBaton Rouge$110K
- Harry HawthorneAlexandria$89K
- Mazen IqbalMonroe$82K
- Darrell SoletMorgan City$81K
- Ghiath MikdadiHammond$76K
- Samuel StaggHouma$70K
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.