Zoher Ghogawala, MD
Neurological Surgery · Burlington, MANPI 1437264744
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $2,633 of the $3,712 with a category attached, or 70.9%. 8 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 32.3% of the total. That places this record below the midpoint for neurological surgery clinicians in MA, where the typical reported total is $3,500.
Across 32 payments — averaging $116.01 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$1K
- Globus Medical$1K
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$513
- Zsfab, Inc.$322
- Cerapedics Inc.$318
- Icotec Medical Inc.$127
- plus $135 from 2 others
Across 30 payments — averaging $4710.83 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.
- Medtronic$104K
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$38K
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$1,07929%
- Food & beverage$2,63371%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 13 | $1,199 |
| Globus Medical(2 entities) | 8 | $1,098 |
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 4 | $513 |
| Zsfab, Inc. | 1 | $322 |
| Cerapedics Inc. | 3 | $318 |
| Icotec Medical Inc. | 1 | $127 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $124 |
| Misonix 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.
- INFUSE BONE GRAFT$617
- Excelsius - GPS$503
- XLIF$259
- Pulse$259
- COALITION$174
- Velys$148
- I-FACTOR PEPTIDE ENHANCED BONE GRAFT$146
- ALTALYNE$144
- SYMPHONY$143
- Modulus$128
- VADER PEDICLE SYSTEM 6.0, SCREW, Carbon/PEEK, POLYAX., FEN., O 5.5 X 45 MM$127
- VADER PEDICLE SYSTEM, ROD, Carbon/PEEK, CURVED, 6.0 R450 X 200 MM$127
- KONG-TL VBR E, EXPANDABLE BODY, L, 19 MM X 27 - 37 MM$127
- KONG-TL VBR, END PLATE, ROUND, L AND SCREW, 12 X 43 MM$127
- KONG-TL VBR, END PLATE, RECTANGULAR, M AND SCREW, 12 X 33 MM$127
- i-FACTOR Putty$126
How this compares
$3,712 in reported general payments places this provider in the 50th percentile of 183 neurological surgery providers in Massachusetts.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tramadol Hcl | 15 | $33 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other neurological surgery in Burlington
- Jeffrey ArleBurlington$284K
- Erica BissonBurlington$240K
- Jonathan PaceBurlington$25K
- Robert WhitmoreBurlington$25K
- Andrew YewBurlington$13K
- Simcha WellerBoston$905K
- Paul HouleHyannis$774K
- Aman PatelBoston$734K
- Alireza AtriBoston$503K
- Frederik PenningsWorcester$471K
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.