Zhongyu Li, MD
Hand Surgery · Winston Salem, NCNPI 1922082304
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (55.2%), food and beverage and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 23 manufacturers reported payments, led by Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. at 54.5% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $10,636 and has fallen 94.8% since, to $554 in 2025. Among hand surgery clinicians in NC 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 86 payments — averaging $333.69 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.$16K
- Akcea Therapeutics, Inc.$6K
- Checkpoint Surgical, Inc$2K
- Piedmont Plus Innovation$1K
- Axogen$920
- Skeletal Dynamics Inc$487
- plus $3K from 17 others
Across 7 payments — averaging $1783.31 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.
- Axogen$12K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$15,83055%
- Speaking & faculty fees$2,1007%
- Travel & lodging$4,82917%
- Food & beverage$5,90021%
- Education$390%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 26 | $15,641 |
| Akcea Therapeutics, Inc. | 2 | $5,600 |
| Checkpoint Surgical, Inc | 10 | $2,204 |
| Piedmont Plus Innovation | 3 | $1,071 |
| Axogen | 9 | $920 |
| Skeletal Dynamics Inc | 6 | $487 |
| Arthrex | 2 | $455 |
| Osteocentric Technologies, Inc. | 3 | $324 |
| Stryker(2 entities) | 3 | $259 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 3 | $227 |
| Orthofix Medical, Inc. | 3 | $211 |
| Endo USA, Inc. | 2 | $207 |
| Trimed, Inc. | 2 | $170 |
| Smith+Nephew | 2 | $137 |
| Trice Medical, Inc. | 1 | $133 |
| Acera Surgical, Inc. | 1 | $124 |
| Medartis Inc. | 2 | $110 |
| Integra Lifesciences Corporation | 1 | $103 |
| Amgen | 1 | $84 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $72 |
| Encore Medical, LP | 1 | $70 |
| Biocomposites Inc | 1 | $66 |
| Medical Microinstruments, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
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.
- XIAFLEX$15,268
- TEGSEDI$2,100
- Checkpoint Stimulators$2,040
- AVANCE NERVE GRAFT$613
- OsteoCentric 4.0 x 130mm LOCKING BONE SCREW FASTENER ST$324
- AxoGuard Nerve Connector$294
- AxoGuard Nerve Protector$294
- Geminus$230
- Align$230
- IJS$230
- Implate$230
- AXOGUARD HA+ NERVE PROTECTOR$138
- AxoGuard Nerve Cap$138
- Tools - AFS$132
- Restrata Wound Matrix$124
- VARIAX$120
- FREEDOM WRIST$103
- PYRO MCP$103
- TSSM - TOTAL SHOULDER SYSTEM METAL$103
- TITAN-SHOULDER$103
How this compares
$28,697 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 79 hand surgery 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Gabapentin | 18 | $323 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 16 | $77 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 13 | $42 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other hand surgery in Winston Salem
- Alexander ChiaramontiWinston Salem$16K
- Derek BernsteinWinston Salem$13K
- Benjamin GravesWinston Salem$9K
- Christopher TuohyWinston Salem$5K
- Ethan WieslerWinston Salem$4K
- Christpher KliftoDurham$575K
- Raymond GastonCharlotte$505K
- Ryan GarciaCharlotte$381K
- Richard MooreWilmington$177K
- Erica TaylorRaleigh$97K
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.