RxDoctor Payments Data

Wilson Tsai, MD

Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Walnut Creek, CANPI 1609035666

Payments from drug & device makers

What this record shows

The money is spread across several categories — education (35.0%), consulting fees and speaking fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 37 manufacturers reported payments, led by Intuitive Surgical at 55.9% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $134,634 and has fallen 75.5% since, to $32,969 in 2025. Among thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) 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.

$680,056in general payments, 2019–2025

Across 1,066 payments — averaging $637.95 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.

  • Intuitive Surgical$380K
  • Johnson & Johnson$129K
  • Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$33K
  • Pinnacle Biologics, Inc$26K
  • Davol Inc.$24K
  • Ambu Inc.$24K
  • plus $64K from 31 others
$6,172in research payments, 2019–2025

Across 4 payments — averaging $1543.00 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.

  • Concordia Laboratories Inc.$4K
  • Ethicon Endo-surgery Inc.$2K
  • Janssen Research & Development, LLC$672

What the payments were for

  • Consulting fees$216,33732%
  • Speaking & faculty fees$114,41617%
  • Travel & lodging$72,39111%
  • Food & beverage$38,8506%
  • Education$238,01835%
  • Gifts$430%

General payments by program year

19
20
21
22
23
24
25

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.

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

$680,056 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 546 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in California.

See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in California

Medicare billing

Part B allowed, 2024
$211,573
Medicare patients
219
Services billed
594

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 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Walnut Creek

See the full list for California

Where these figures come from

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