Wright Shields, MD
Internal Medicine · New Bern, NCNPI 1720034937
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 98.5% of the total across 227 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 52 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 16.6% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $970 and has fallen 98.3% since, to $16 in 2025.
Across 227 payments — averaging $15.45 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- GSK$581
- Grifols USA, LLC$288
- AbbVie$288
- Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.$215
- Johnson & Johnson$211
- Amgen$188
- plus $2K from 46 others
Across 7 payments — averaging $10,939 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.
- Eli Lilly$64K
- Novartis$12K
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$3,45799%
- Education$511%
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.
How this compares
$3,508 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 3,302 internal medicine providers in North Carolina.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| OzempicSemaglutide | 15 | $19,961 |
| EliquisApixaban | 19 | $15,062 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 23 | $12,764 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 242 | $2,693 |
| Omeprazole | 105 | $1,844 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 128 | $1,359 |
| Potassium Chloride | 57 | $1,121 |
| Ipratropium Bromide | 22 | $1,098 |
| Sucralfate | 15 | $1,049 |
| Diltiazem 24hr Er (Cd)Diltiazem Hcl | 15 | $1,020 |
| Celecoxib | 39 | $943 |
| Trazodone Hcl | 60 | $917 |
| Levothyroxine Sodium | 86 | $796 |
| Metformin Hcl ErMetformin Hcl | 93 | $783 |
| Donepezil Hcl | 22 | $712 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Novo NordiskOzempic | $70 | $19,96115 claims |
| PfizerEliquis | $153 | $15,06219 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $170 | $12,76423 claims |
| Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLCLevothyroxine Sodium | $24 | $79686 claims |
| AbbVieSynthroid | $288 | $59815 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 85th percentile of 3,302 internal medicine providers in North Carolina.
Other internal medicine in New Bern
- Nirmish ShahDurham$862K
- Eugene WrightFayetteville$839K
- Saad UsmaniCharlotte$551K
- Bhakti PaulRaleigh$536K
- Mary KlotmanDurham$478K
- Manesh PatelDurham$435K
- Millie LongChapel Hill$374K
- Marc JohnsonCharlotte$342K
- Christina CraterRaleigh$330K
- Jamy ArdWinston Salem$293K
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.