Dr. Christian Spies, M.D.
What this data tells you about Dr. Spies
Dr. Christian Spies is a cardiovascular disease specialist in Burlingame, CA, with 18 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Spies performed 732 Medicare services across 632 unique beneficiaries.
Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Spies received a total of $769,534 from 25 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 1061 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in cardiovascular disease. The majority of payments are for speaking programs and promotional activities, reflecting participation in industry-sponsored events. Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.
The Data Coverage level for Dr. Spies is Very High — reflecting how much public federal data is available about this provider. Patients are encouraged to use this data as one of several factors when choosing a healthcare provider.
Medicare Practice Summary
Medicare Utilization ↗Top procedures by volume
Ranked by number of services performed for Medicare patients. Avg. submitted charge is what the provider billed; avg. Medicare payment is what CMS paid.
| Procedure | Volume | Avg. paid | Avg. submitted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office visit, established patient, complex (40-54 min) An office or outpatient visit for an existing patient lasting between 40 and 54 minutes. This level of service is determined by the total time spent on the date of the encounter. |
181 | $159 | $489 |
| New patient office visit, complex (60-74 min) | 81 | $195 | $697 |
| Hospital follow-up visit, high complexity Subsequent hospital inpatient or observation care for an existing patient involving high-level medical decision making, with at least 50 minutes total time on the date of the encounter. |
74 | $108 | $365 |
| Initial hospital admission, high complexity Initial hospital inpatient or observation care for a new patient involving high-level medical decision making, with at least 75 minutes total time on the date of the encounter. |
55 | $149 | $704 |
| Transcatheter aortic valve replacement via femoral artery A minimally invasive procedure to replace a diseased aortic heart valve using a catheter inserted through the skin and femoral artery. |
46 | $622 | $3,105 |
| Mitral valve repair through skin, initial prosthesis A minimally invasive procedure to repair the mitral valve using a new prosthetic device inserted through the skin. |
40 | $1,133 | $5,606 |
| Coronary stent placement A procedure to insert a stent into a coronary artery or its branch to keep it open, using balloon dilation during the process. |
34 | $374 | $2,005 |
| Critical care, first 30-74 min Emergency medical care for a critically ill or injured patient lasting between 30 and 74 minutes. This service involves direct patient care and medical decision making to stabilize the patient. |
32 | $185 | $957 |
| Repair of left upper heart chamber with implant A surgical procedure to repair the left upper chamber of the heart using an implanted device, with review by a radiologist. |
31 | $481 | $2,351 |
| Cardiac catheterization | 29 | $156 | $835 |
| Insertion of tube in right and left heart chambers and coronary artery for diagnosis with review by radiologist | 26 | $291 | $1,104 |
| Coronary angiography A procedure to insert a tube into a coronary artery to capture diagnostic images of the heart's blood vessels. |
24 | $109 | $768 |
| Office visit, established patient (30-39 min) A follow-up office visit for an existing patient lasting between 30 and 39 minutes. The visit involves medical evaluation and management of the patient's condition. |
23 | $111 | $364 |
| Mitral valve repair with additional prosthesis A procedure to repair the mitral valve in the heart using an additional prosthetic device. This is performed through the skin. |
22 | $270 | $1,511 |
| Ultrasound of heart blood vessel or graft An ultrasound exam to evaluate blood flow in a heart blood vessel or graft, including a radiologist's review of the initial vessel. |
20 | $80 | $499 |
| Echocardiogram, transthoracic An ultrasound of the heart that uses color to show blood flow, rate, direction, and valve function. |
14 | $62 | $248 |
Industry Payment Transparency
Open Payments through 2024 ↗Payment profile
Industry payments classified by relationship type. Not all payments are equal — research and consulting reflect different relationships than speaking programs or meals.
Payment trend by year
Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
Payments by company (2024)
All-time payments by company (2018-2024) ›
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
The majority of payments (74%) are for speaking programs and promotional activities, which reflect participation in industry-sponsored educational or marketing events. This is common in cardiovascular disease and does not inherently indicate bias, but patients may wish to be aware. Total industry engagement is in the top 1% for cardiovascular disease in CA.
Geographic Context
0.0 mi
Data Sources
| Provider Registry | ✓ NPPES | Weekly updates |
| Medicare Enrollment | ✓ PECOS | Monthly updates |
| Practice Data | ✓ Medicare Util. | Annual (CY lag) |
| Industry Payments | ✓ Open Payments | CY 2024 |
| Disciplinary History | — Not public | N/A |
This provider has data in 4 of 4 available federal datasets, with a Data Coverage level of Very High. This reflects how much public data is available about a provider. How we calculate this →
Summary
Dr. Spies is an interventional & cardiac specialist, with moderate Medicare volume, with speaking/promotional industry engagement in the top 1% of CA peers, with 18 years of NPI registration.
This summary is auto-generated from federal data, describing data availability and patterns. Read our methodology →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Does Dr. Spies receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
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All data on this page is sourced verbatim from public federal records published by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): NPPES ↗, Open Payments ↗, Medicare Provider Utilization ↗, and PECOS. Publication is mandated by the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (§6002 ACA, 42 U.S.C. §1320a-7h) and the Freedom of Information Act.
This page is not medical advice, an endorsement, a recommendation, or a quality rating. Data Coverage reflects data completeness — how much federal information exists for this provider — not clinical performance, patient outcomes, or quality of care. Always verify information directly with the provider and consult a licensed clinician before making medical decisions.
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