Choice Spine, LLC: payments to clinicians
Choice Spine, LLC's 2025 payments went to relatively few clinicians: $1,015,008 to 88, about $11,534 each. Most of it (71%) was royalties and licenses, then consulting fees (20%). The largest single recipient (Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine, Kentucky) received $256,785.
| Program year | Total | Payments | Clinicians paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $1,015,008 | 404 | 88 |
| 2024 | $1,022,021 | 389 | 80 |
Largest recipients in 2025
| # | Clinician | Specialty | Location | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Paul Knetsche, M.D. | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Danville, KY | $256,785 |
| 2 | Paul R. Jeffords, M.D. | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Atlanta, GA | $98,131 |
| 3 | Julian Paul Price, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery | Athens, GA | $86,634 |
| 4 | Mitchell Alan Hardenbrook, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Hopedale, MA | $63,974 |
| 5 | Jeffrey Scott Schiffman, M.D. | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Escondido, CA | $60,885 |
| 6 | Anders J. Cohen, D.O. | Neurological Surgery | Brooklyn, NY | $56,900 |
| 7 | Nilesh M. Patel, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Dearborn, MI | $34,434 |
| 8 | Christopher Steven Blanchard, D.O. | Orthopaedic Surgery | Cumming, GA | $33,927 |
| 9 | Betsy H. Grunch, MD | Neurological Surgery | Gainesville, GA | $29,210 |
| 10 | Steven S. Schiebert, D.O. | Orthopaedic Surgery | Staten Island, NY | $27,258 |
| 11 | James K. Aymond, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Charleston, SC | $26,908 |
| 12 | Larry Teik-Man Khoo, MD | Neurological Surgery | Los Angeles, CA | $24,603 |
| 13 | Daniel Mark Williams, M.D. | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Pinehurst, NC | $23,487 |
| 14 | David Alan Wiles, MD | Neurological Surgery | Chattanooga, TN | $23,327 |
| 15 | Thomas Neil Scioscia, M.D. | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Richmond, VA | $23,144 |
| 16 | Keith M. Maxwell, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery | Asheville, NC | $21,554 |
| 17 | Stephane Lavoie, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery | Deland, FL | $16,178 |
| 18 | Anup Krishna Gangavalli, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery | Richmond, VA | $15,593 |
| 19 | Benjamin Weisenthal, M.D. | Orthopaedic Surgery | Knoxville, TN | $13,535 |
| 20 | Carrie L. Shulman, MD | Neurological Surgery | Largo, FL | $11,712 |
| 21 | Brian Andrew O'Shaughnessy, MD | Neurological Surgery | Nashville, TN | $9,585 |
| 22 | Andrew T. Trobridge, MD | Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine | Muncie, IN | $9,350 |
| 23 | Douglas A. Slaughter, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Bridgewater, NJ | $6,244 |
| 24 | Thomas B. Scully, MD | Neurological Surgery | Tucson, AZ | $6,077 |
| 25 | Stuart D. Kinsella, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Aspen, CO | $4,276 |
| 26 | Simcha J. Weller, M.D. | Neurological Surgery | Boston, MA | $4,275 |
| 27 | Colin Douglas Booth, M.D. | Orthopaedic Surgery | Knoxville, TN | $3,375 |
| 28 | Philip S. Yuan, M.D. | Specialist | Long Beach, CA | $2,264 |
| 29 | Fabien D. Bitan, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | New York, NY | $2,248 |
| 30 | Namath S. Hussain, M.D., MBA | Neurological Surgery | Loma Linda, CA | $1,950 |
| 31 | Jeremy Cheng-Yuh Wang, M.D. | Neurological Surgery | Houston, TX | $1,665 |
| 32 | Bryan B. Barnes, MD | Neurological Surgery | Athens, GA | $1,250 |
| 33 | Bernardo Jose Ordonez, MD | Neurological Surgery | Chesapeake, VA | $1,233 |
| 34 | Douglas P. Beall, MD | Radiology, Diagnostic Radiology | Edmond, OK | $1,000 |
| 35 | Darren R. Lebl, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery | New York, NY | $900.00 |
| 36 | William C. Tally, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery | Athens, GA | $756.51 |
| 37 | Felipe Ituarte, M.D. | Orthopaedic Surgery | Glenwood Springs, CO | $639.65 |
| 38 | Eubulus J. Kerr III, M.D. | Orthopaedic Surgery | Shreveport, LA | $600.00 |
| 39 | Timothy K. Putty, MD | Neurological Surgery | Tucson, AZ | $565.76 |
| 40 | Hubert Lee Gooch Jr., M.D. | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Asheville, NC | $538.12 |
| 41 | Scott Kutz, MD | Neurological Surgery | Lewisville, TX | $500.00 |
| 42 | Wayne Kelley Jr., MD | Orthopaedic Surgery | Macon, GA | $450.00 |
| 43 | Joshua Andrew Miller, MD | Neurological Surgery | Knoxville, TN | $450.00 |
| 44 | Ashley Simela, DO | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Bronx, NY | $416.53 |
| 45 | Douglas B. Moreland, MD | Neurological Surgery | Williamsville, NY | $413.30 |
| 46 | Pedro M. Caram Sr., M.D | Neurological Surgery | El Paso, TX | $406.55 |
| 47 | Andrew Meyers, DO | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Monroe, LA | $364.51 |
| 48 | Amir David Tahernia, M.D. | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Rancho Mirage, CA | $333.37 |
| 49 | Joe Lee, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Arcadia, CA | $311.24 |
| 50 | Hewatt M. Sims, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Douglas, GA | $248.57 |
| 51 | David K. Kim, M.D. | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Dublin, OH | $247.73 |
| 52 | Jonathan Gabor, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Ocean, NJ | $247.73 |
| 53 | Peter P. Harimtepathip, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery | Macon, GA | $241.63 |
| 54 | Bryan A. Johnson, M.D. | Surgery | North Chesterfield, VA | $232.12 |
| 55 | Mohan Ys, M.D. | Neurological Surgery | Rochester Hills, MI | $208.97 |
| 56 | Derek S. Lee, MD | Otolaryngology, Otolaryngology/Facial Plastic Surgery | Livingston, NJ | $205.34 |
| 57 | Imran Rafi Ahmed Punekar, MD, PHD | Pain Medicine, Interventional Pain Medicine | New York, NY | $182.77 |
| 58 | Michael D. Fromke, MD | Neurological Surgery | Fort Myers, FL | $173.37 |
| 59 | Paul J. Pagano, M.D. | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | St Petersburg, FL | $148.32 |
| 60 | John K B Afshar, MD | Neurological Surgery | West Palm Beach, FL | $139.22 |
| 61 | Michael Kenneth Landi, MD | Neurological Surgery | Williamsville, NY | $139.22 |
| 62 | Lamar Fielding Callaway Jr., MD | Orthopaedic Surgery | Macon, GA | $133.54 |
| 63 | Anthony A. Salerni, MD | Neurological Surgery | Gilford, NH | $127.92 |
| 64 | Alexander Richter, M.D. | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Fullerton, CA | $123.90 |
| 65 | Jason David Zook, M.D. | Orthopaedic Surgery | Morganton, NC | $122.62 |
| 66 | Jennifer Marie O'Donnell, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Lebanon, TN | $122.32 |
| 67 | Joshua Michael Ammerman, M.D. | Neurological Surgery | Washington, DC | $115.94 |
| 68 | Richard David Fessler, MD, PHD | Neurological Surgery | South Bend, IN | $112.50 |
| 69 | Thomas A. McNally, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery | Elk Grove Village, IL | $101.88 |
| 70 | John Franklin Berry, M.D., M.S. | Neurological Surgery | Asheville, NC | $97.44 |
| 71 | Azadeh Farin, MD | Neurological Surgery | Long Beach, CA | $94.45 |
| 72 | Matthew James Putty, D.O. | Neurological Surgery | Tucson, AZ | $83.71 |
| 73 | Alexander James Gamble, DO | Neurological Surgery | Bedford, NH | $83.25 |
| 74 | Ronald Michael, M.D. | Neurological Surgery | Hammond, IN | $83.00 |
| 75 | Nicholas Joseph Wills, M.D. | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Eagan, MN | $73.33 |
| 76 | Michael T. Espiritu, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery | Dakota Dunes, SD | $71.37 |
| 77 | Richard Boyer, MD | Neurological Surgery | Knoxville, TN | $64.47 |
| 78 | Amir Vokshoor, M.D. | Neurological Surgery | Santa Monica, CA | $50.73 |
| 79 | David W. Polly Jr., MD | Orthopaedic Surgery | Minneapolis, MN | $50.00 |
| 80 | Steven Blake Housley, M.D. | Neurological Surgery | Knoxville, TN | $47.71 |
| 81 | David Wells-Roth, MD | Neurological Surgery | Edison, NJ | $44.98 |
| 82 | Petros Koutsogiannis, DO | Orthopaedic Surgery | Laurinburg, NC | $36.23 |
| 83 | Mukund I. Gundanna, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery | College Station, TX | $27.56 |
| 84 | Kayla Nicole Bradburn, MD | Orthopaedic Surgery | Nashville, TN | $26.46 |
| 85 | James J. Choo, MD | Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine | Knoxville, TN | $25.49 |
| 86 | Melvin D. Law Jr., MD | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Nashville, TN | $25.23 |
| 87 | Robert A. Morgan, M.D. | Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine | Saint Louis, MO | $15.25 |
| 88 | Todd James Stewart, MD | Neurological Surgery | Saint Louis, MO | $15.25 |
Receiving payments does not imply wrongdoing. What Open Payments covers ·original records