Zachary Balest, MD
Ophthalmology · Gainesville, GANPI 1275944639
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (55.7%), consulting fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 31 manufacturers reported payments, led by Glaukos Corporation at 26.3% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $15,393, more than ten times the $1,027 reported in 2019. Among ophthalmology clinicians in GA with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 339 payments — averaging $81.74 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Glaukos Corporation$7K
- Alcon$6K
- Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.$4K
- Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.$3K
- Alcon Research LLC$2K
- Lensar, Inc.$2K
- plus $5K from 25 others
Across 31 payments — averaging $708.26 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.
- Glaukos Corporation$22K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$11,55842%
- Travel & lodging$5582%
- Food & beverage$15,43456%
- Education$1401%
- Gifts$190%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Glaukos Corporation | 23 | $7,285 |
| Alcon | 100 | $5,578 |
| Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc. | 27 | $3,788 |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | 63 | $2,988 |
| Alcon Research LLC | 2 | $1,758 |
| Lensar, Inc. | 8 | $1,731 |
| AbbVie(2 entities) | 41 | $992 |
| Rxsight Inc | 6 | $532 |
| Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision, Inc. | 11 | $481 |
| Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. | 4 | $303 |
| Dompe US, Inc. | 6 | $276 |
| Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 7 | $254 |
| Tearlab Corp | 2 | $243 |
| Nova Eye, Inc. | 2 | $239 |
| Biotissue Holdings Inc. | 5 | $196 |
| Novartis | 3 | $177 |
| Rayner Intraocular Lenses Limited | 4 | $166 |
| Amgen(2 entities) | 8 | $159 |
| NEW World Medical,inc. | 2 | $97 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec Cataract Technology Inc. | 1 | $84 |
| Astellas Pharma US Inc | 1 | $75 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc. | 1 | $70 |
| Harrow Eye, LLC | 2 | $65 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 2 | $47 |
| Sight Sciences, Inc. | 2 | $30 |
| Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec AG | 1 | $19 |
| Eyevance Pharmaceuticals LLC | 1 | $18 |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec USA, Inc. | 1 | $13 |
| Shire North American Group Inc | 1 | $13 |
| Eyepoint US, 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.
- Travoprost Intraocular Implant - iDose$4,164
- Clareon$3,046
- IC-8 Apthera IOL$2,918
- LENSAR LASER SYSTEM$1,550
- CEQUA$1,095
- LenSx$622
- RXSIGHT INJECTOR HANDPIECE$490
- RXSIGHT CONTACT LENS$490
- RXSIGHT INJECTOR CARTRIDGE$490
- RXSIGHT LIGHT DELIVERY DEVICE (LDD)$490
- RXSIGHT LIGHT ADJUSTABLE LENS (RXLAL)$368
- ARGOS$271
- TearLab Osmolarity System$243
- BROMSITE$212
- iDoseTR$208
- CE-marked KXLA system$185
- Clareon PanOptix Pro$175
- XELPROS$167
- XEN GLAUCOMA TREATMENT SYSTEM$149
- Tecnis Simplicity$147
How this compares
$27,709 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 481 ophthalmology providers in Georgia.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| RestasisCyclosporine | 65 | $67,599 |
| LumiganBimatoprost | 77 | $33,168 |
| Cyclosporine | 20 | $16,147 |
| Latanoprost | 670 | $7,286 |
| Prednisolone Acetate | 145 | $5,742 |
| Alphagan PBrimonidine Tartrate | 13 | $5,317 |
| CombiganBrimonidine Tartrate/Timolol | 14 | $4,619 |
| Dorzolamide-TimololDorzolamide Hcl/Timolol Maleat | 266 | $4,466 |
| Travoprost | 22 | $3,375 |
| Ketorolac Tromethamine | 95 | $2,601 |
| Brimonidine Tartrate | 65 | $1,315 |
| Timolol Maleate | 110 | $947 |
| MoxifloxacinMoxifloxacin Hcl | 26 | $524 |
| Polymyxin B Sul-TrimethoprimPolymyxin B Sulf/Trimethoprim | 59 | $504 |
| Doxycycline Hyclate | 22 | $273 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| AbbVieRestasis, Lumigan, Alphagan P, Combigan | $992 | $110,702169 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 90th percentile of 481 ophthalmology providers in Georgia.
Other ophthalmology in Gainesville
- Jack ChapmanGainesville$244K
- Clayton BlehmGainesville$42K
- Jeffrey CrowderGainesville$13K
- Gagan SawhneyAtlanta$582K
- Lawrence WoodardAtlanta$578K
- Stephanie VanderveldtAtlanta$384K
- Steven YehAtlanta$289K
- Gregory LeeCumming$214K
- Puneet PandaMarietta$185K
- Jeffrey TranSuwanee$150K
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.