Zulfiquar Bhatti, MD
Cardiology · Columbus, GANPI 1720180227
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $13,899 of the $16,014 with a category attached, or 86.8%. It is spread thinly across 45 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 13.0% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. 2025 is the largest year on record at $3,336, 2.7 times the $1,223 reported in 2019. Among cardiology 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 676 payments — averaging $23.69 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Abbott$2K
- Philips North America LLC$2K
- Abiomed$1K
- Johnson & Johnson$1K
- Pfizer$1K
- Novartis$909
- plus $7K from 39 others
Across 278 payments — averaging $1092.45 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.
- Novartis$86K
- CSL Behring$69K
- Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH$53K
- Esperion Therapeutics, Inc.$49K
- Merck$33K
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.kg$14K
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$2,10113%
- Food & beverage$13,89987%
- Education$150%
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.
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.
- Impella$1,385
- (9520) IGT Devices Undivided$949
- (5044) MCOT$596
- CARDIOMEMS$376
- NEXLIZET$234
- NEXLETOL$234
- AZURE XT DR MRI SURESCAN$174
- Barostim Neo System$160
- Micra$136
- THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$131
- MitraClip System$126
- VERQUVO$125
- WATCHMAN Access System$123
- Unify Assura CRT Defibrillator$123
- FARXIGA$123
- (6574) Coronary Other$119
- Inspire$119
- ASSURITY$111
- XARELTO$110
- Repatha$108
How this compares
$16,014 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 24 cardiology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 340 | $341,241 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 225 | $267,206 |
| FarxigaDapagliflozin Propanediol | 160 | $175,403 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 97 | $112,322 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 81 | $87,187 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 30 | $30,827 |
| Ranolazine ErRanolazine | 127 | $15,273 |
| Diltiazem 24hr Er (Cd)Diltiazem Hcl | 247 | $6,223 |
| Prasugrel Hcl | 25 | $5,172 |
| DapagliflozinDapagliflozin Propanediol | 11 | $5,136 |
| Spironolactone | 547 | $4,432 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 245 | $3,583 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 338 | $3,527 |
| Amiodarone Hcl | 78 | $3,244 |
| Losartan Potassium | 335 | $2,842 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $1,117 | $341,241340 claims |
| NovartisEntresto | $909 | $267,206225 claims |
| AstraZenecaFarxiga | $834 | $175,403160 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $277 | $112,32297 claims |
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $1,360 | $87,18781 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 24 cardiology providers in Georgia.
Other cardiology in Columbus
- Rajinder ChhokarColumbus$17K
- Vaibhav PatelColumbus$15K
- Samir MewarColumbus$15K
- Kalaivani SivakumarAtlanta$16K
- Robert LemboSavannah$10K
- Obinnaya EmeroleMacon$8K
- Mark WatkinsBrunswick$4K
- Annie HoAtlanta$2K
- John SmithAtlanta$1K
- Chukwuemeka NwabueboMacon$877
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.