Medicare Enrolled

Dr. David Williams, M.D.

Thoracic Surgery · La Jolla, CA
Practice pattern: Interventional & Cardiac — Practice combining interventional and cardiac services
Research-focused
9898 GENESEE AVE, La Jolla, CA 92037
8588245363
In practice since 2014 (11 years)
NPI: 1215347851 verify on NPPES ↗
Very High
DATA COVERAGE
Data in 4 of 4 federal sources
Measures public federal data availability — not provider quality
Informational, not a quality rating. This page presents federal public records about Dr. Williams from CMS (NPPES, Open Payments, Medicare Provider Utilization, PECOS). It is not medical advice, an endorsement, or a judgment of clinical quality. Always consult the provider directly and a licensed clinician for medical decisions. Read methodology →
Are you Dr. Williams? Request a correction or review of any data shown here. Provider portal →

What this data tells you about Dr. Williams

Dr. David Williams is a thoracic surgery specialist in La Jolla, CA, with 11 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Williams performed 120 Medicare services across 120 unique beneficiaries.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Williams received a total of $27,547 from 7 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 162 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in thoracic surgery. The majority of payments are classified as research and scientific activities (grants and research funding). Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.

The Data Coverage level for Dr. Williams 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.

✓ 11 years in practice ▲ 120 Medicare services $27,547 industry payments

Medicare Practice Summary

Medicare Utilization ↗
120
Medicare services
Bottom 38% in CA for thoracic surgery
Lower Medicare volume may reflect subspecialty focus, hospital-based work, or a higher share of non-Medicare patients.
120
Unique beneficiaries
$348
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · How to read this →
~11 Medicare services per year of practice

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
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.
 61 $571 $3,610
New patient office visit, complex (60-74 min) 47 $131 $488
Initial hospital admission, low complexity
Initial hospital inpatient or observation care for a new patient involving straightforward or low-level medical decision making, with at least 40 minutes total time on the date of the encounter.
 12 $65 $286
How to read this data: This reflects Medicare patients only (typically 65+). Payment amounts are what Medicare paid the provider, not your out-of-pocket cost. A higher procedure volume generally indicates more experience with that procedure.
50.8% high complexity
0.0% medium
49.2% routine

Industry Payment Transparency

Open Payments through 2024 ↗
$27,547
Total received (2020-2024)
Avg $5,509/year across 5 years
Top 16% in CA for thoracic surgery
A higher payment rank reflects disclosed industry relationships (consulting, research, speaking) common among subspecialists — not wrongdoing.
7
Companies
162
Individual payments
All payments are legal and publicly reported · Not evidence of wrongdoing · How to interpret →

Payment profile

Industry payments classified by relationship type. Not all payments are equal — research and consulting reflect different relationships than speaking programs or meals.

Scientific / Research
Research funding and grants
$22,218 (80.7%)
Meals & Travel
Food, beverages, travel, and lodging — typically low-value
$5,329 (19.3%)

Payment trend by year

Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

2024
$688
2023
$1,098
2022
$1,530
2021
$23,271
2020
$959

Payments by company (2024)

Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
$491
Medtronic, Inc.
$71
Baxter Healthcare
$57
ABIOMED
$41
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$28
Top 3 companies account for 90.0% of 2024 payments
All-time payments by company (2020-2024) ›
Medtronic, Inc.
$22,647
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
$3,911
Abbott Laboratories
$356
ATRICURE, INC.
$218
Baxter Healthcare
$199
ABIOMED
$188
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$28
Top 3 companies account for 97.7% of all-time payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
3F · ATRICURE CRYOICE CRYOSPHERE CRYOABLATION SYSTEM · AVALUS · CARPENTIER-EDWARDS PHYSIO II ANNULOPLASTY RING · COREVALVE EVOLUT R · COSEAL · CoreValve Evolut · Edwards SAPIEN 3 Ultra Transcatheter Heart Valve · FLOSEAL · INSPIRIS RESILIA AORTIC VALVE · Impella · JARDIANCE · MITRACLIP · MitraClip System · PERCLOT · TISSEEL
Should you be concerned? Payments from pharmaceutical and device companies are legal and common — 57% of U.S. physicians receive at least one. They often reflect legitimate consulting, research, or education. What matters is whether a recommended drug or device appears in your doctor's payment records. If so, consider asking your doctor about it. How to interpret this data →

The majority of payments (81%) are classified as scientific/research, suggesting involvement in clinical studies, grants, or innovation-related work.

Looking for a thoracic surgery specialist in La Jolla?
Compare thoracic surgerists in the La Jolla area by procedure volume, costs, and industry payment transparency.
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Geographic Context

Thoracic surgerists within 10 mi
46
Per 100K population
1.4
County median income
$102,285
Nearest hospital
SCRIPPS MEMORIAL HOSPITAL LA JOLLA
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. Williams is an interventional & cardiac specialist, with moderate Medicare volume, with research-focused industry engagement in the top 16% of CA peers.

This summary is auto-generated from federal data, describing data availability and patterns. Read our methodology →

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Dr. Williams experienced with transcatheter aortic valve replacement via femoral artery?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Williams performed 61 transcatheter aortic valve replacement via femoral artery services. Research suggests that higher procedure volume is often associated with better outcomes, particularly for complex procedures. Note that Medicare data only captures patients aged 65 and older, so the total practice volume across all patients is likely higher.
Does Dr. Williams receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Williams received a total of $27,547 from 7 companies across 162 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common among physicians — 57% of all U.S. physicians receive at least one industry payment. Patients may wish to ask their doctor about these relationships, especially if a recommended drug or device appears in the payment records.
How do Dr. Williams's costs compare to other thoracic surgerists in La Jolla?
Dr. Williams's average Medicare payment per service is $348. Note that these figures represent what Medicare pays, not your out-of-pocket cost, which depends on your specific insurance plan and deductible. Procedure-level data above shows both what was submitted and what Medicare paid for each service type.
What does Data Coverage mean?
Data Coverage (currently Very High for Dr. Williams) measures how much public federal data is available about a provider. It is not a quality rating. A "Very High" or "High" level means the provider has data across multiple federal sources (NPPES, PECOS, Medicare Utilization, Open Payments), indicating a long track record of practice, Medicare participation, and industry disclosure. A "Low" or "Moderate" level may simply mean the provider is newer, does not see Medicare patients, or has not received any industry payments — none of which are inherently negative. Read our full methodology →
Is this data up to date?
Each data source has its own update cycle. Provider registry data (NPPES) is updated weekly. Medicare enrollment (PECOS) is updated monthly. Medicare practice data has a ~2 year lag — the most recent available is typically 2 years prior. Industry payment data (Open Payments) is published annually, usually in June, covering the prior calendar year. We display the data date prominently on each section so you always know how current it is. See our data freshness policy →

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About this page

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.

Provider corrections: Provider portal · Privacy questions: Privacy Policy · Terms: Terms of Use · Methodology: Methodology

Data Disclaimer — Data sourced from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), Open Payments program, Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data, and Provider Enrollment & Certification data (PECOS). Published under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This website is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by CMS, HHS, or the U.S. Government. Data may contain errors as reported to CMS by providers and reporting entities. Payments from industry are legal and do not indicate wrongdoing. Medicare data reflects only patients aged 65+ or those with qualifying disabilities. For corrections, contact CMS directly. This information does not constitute medical advice and should not be used as the sole basis for choosing a healthcare provider. Procedure descriptions use plain language and do not reference CPT® codes, which are copyrighted by the American Medical Association. Full methodology → · Report a data error → · Privacy policy →