Medicare Enrolled
Dr. Stanley Chou, M.D.
Pain Medicine · Los Alamitos, CA
Practice pattern: Clinical Cardiology
— Primarily office-based clinical cardiology
Low-engagement
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. Chou 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 →
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What this data tells you about Dr. Chou
Dr. Stanley Chou is a pain medicine specialist in Los Alamitos, CA, with 20 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Chou performed 5,723 Medicare services across 1,831 unique beneficiaries.
Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Chou received a total of $8,378 from 46 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 399 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in pain medicine. Most payments are for meals and travel — low-value interactions common across virtually all practicing physicians. Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.
The Data Coverage level for Dr. Chou 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.
✓ 20 years in practice
▲ Top 9% volume in CA
$8,378 industry payments
Medicare Practice Summary
Medicare Utilization ↗5,723
Medicare services
Top 9% in CA for pain medicine
1,831
Unique beneficiaries
$67
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · How to read this →
~286 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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. |
1,729 | $98 | $350 |
| Methylprednisolone acetate injection, 20 mg A 20 mg injection of methylprednisolone acetate, a corticosteroid medication. This code specifies the drug and dosage administered. |
741 | $5 | $16 |
| Manual therapy (hands-on treatment), per 15 min | 732 | $18 | $100 |
| 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. |
580 | $94 | $315 |
| Steroid injection (triamcinolone) A 10 mg injection of triamcinolone acetonide, a corticosteroid medication. This code specifies the drug and dosage administered. |
532 | $1 | $17 |
| Dexamethasone injection (steroid) An injection of dexamethasone sodium phosphate, a corticosteroid medication, administered in a dose of 1 milligram. |
224 | $0 | $13 |
| New patient office visit (45-59 min) An initial office visit for a new patient lasting between 45 and 59 minutes. This code covers the total time spent by the physician or qualified healthcare professional on the date of the encounter. |
178 | $121 | $540 |
| Sacral spine nerve root injection with imaging guidance An injection of anesthetic and/or steroid medication into a sacral spine nerve root. The procedure uses imaging guidance to ensure accurate placement. |
142 | $211 | $850 |
| Sedation by physician, initial 15 minutes Administration of a drug to induce depression of consciousness by the physician performing a procedure. This code covers the initial 15 minutes of sedation for patients aged 5 years or older. |
137 | $44 | $100 |
| Additional sacral spine nerve root injection with imaging An injection of anesthetic and/or steroid medication into an additional sacral spine nerve root level, guided by imaging. |
129 | $97 | $353 |
| Additional sedation, per 15 minutes Administration of a drug to deepen sedation during a procedure. This code covers each additional 15-minute increment of sedation beyond the initial period. |
109 | $10 | $40 |
| Ultrasound guidance for needle placement Use of ultrasound imaging to guide the precise placement of a needle during a medical procedure. |
63 | $49 | $740 |
| Trigger point injection, 3 or more muscles Injection of medication into three or more specific muscle trigger points to relieve pain. |
56 | $44 | $210 |
| Spine facet joint injection with imaging guidance, single level An injection is administered into a single facet joint of the lower or sacral spine while using imaging guidance to ensure accurate placement. |
52 | $178 | $630 |
| Facet joint injection, second level, with imaging guidance An injection into a lower or sacral spine facet joint using imaging guidance for the second level treated. |
50 | $97 | $310 |
| Joint injection, major joint Removal of fluid from a large joint and/or injection of medication into the joint space. |
38 | $55 | $711 |
| Fluoroscopic guidance for needle placement Use of real-time X-ray imaging to guide the precise placement of a needle during a medical procedure. |
38 | $101 | $225 |
| Facet joint nerve destruction, single joint A procedure to destroy nerves in a single lower or sacral spinal facet joint using imaging guidance to target pain signals. |
30 | $476 | $1,350 |
| Spine facet joint injection with imaging guidance, single level An injection is administered into a single facet joint of the upper or middle spine while using imaging guidance to ensure accurate placement. |
29 | $215 | $695 |
| Facet joint nerve destruction, additional joint This procedure uses imaging guidance to destroy nerves in an additional lower or sacral spinal facet joint. |
29 | $270 | $630 |
| Facet joint injection, second level, with imaging An injection into a second spinal facet joint in the upper or middle spine, guided by imaging to ensure accurate placement. |
27 | $108 | $335 |
| Ultrasound-guided large joint aspiration or injection This procedure uses ultrasound imaging to guide the removal of fluid from or the injection of medication into a large joint. |
23 | $85 | $1,000 |
| Injection of anesthetic or steroid into sacroiliac joint with imaging guidance This procedure involves injecting an anesthetic or steroid medication into the joint connecting the lower spine and hip bone. Imaging guidance is used to ensure accurate placement of the injection. |
23 | $163 | $480 |
| Spinal injection with imaging guidance A procedure where medication is injected into the middle or upper part of the spinal canal. Imaging technology is used to guide the needle to the correct location. |
16 | $226 | $875 |
| Injection into lower spine canal with imaging guidance A procedure where a substance is injected into the lower part of the spinal canal. The injection is performed using imaging guidance to ensure accurate placement. |
16 | $223 | $750 |
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.
Industry Payment Transparency
Open Payments through 2024 ↗$8,378
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $1,197/year across 7 years
Top 23% in CA for pain medicine
A higher payment rank reflects disclosed industry relationships (consulting, research, speaking) common among subspecialists — not wrongdoing.
46
Companies
399
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.
Meals & Travel
Food, beverages, travel, and lodging — typically low-value
$8,343 (99.6%)
Speaking / Promotional
Speaker programs, honoraria, and industry-sponsored educational events
$35 (0.4%)
Payment trend by year
Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
2024
$446
2023
$479
2022
$334
2021
$661
2020
$797
2019
$2,226
2018
$3,434
Payments by company (2024)
Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
Medtronic, Inc.
$253
TerSera Therapeutics LLC
$66
SCILEX PHARMACEUTICALS INC.
$41
Boston Scientific Corporation
$41
Azurity Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$23
BIOTISSUE HOLDINGS INC.
$22
Top 3 companies account for 80.7% of 2024 payments
All-time payments by company (2018-2024) ›
Medtronic USA, Inc.
$2,422
Nevro Corp.
$1,115
Medtronic, Inc.
$998
Daiichi Sankyo Inc.
$956
Abbott Laboratories
$454
Egalet US Inc
$248
Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$184
Boston Scientific Corporation
$183
SCILEX PHARMACEUTICALS INC.
$169
ARBOR PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
$168
Zynex Medical, Inc.
$136
TerSera Therapeutics LLC
$101
Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$100
Heron Therapeutics, Inc.
$90
PFIZER INC.
$88
West Therapeutics Development, LLC
$85
BIODELIVERY SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL, INC.
$76
RedHill Biopharma Inc.
$75
Salix Pharmaceuticals, a division of Bausch Health US, LLC
$69
Horizon Therapeutics plc
$60
ASSERTIO THERAPEUTICS, Inc.
$44
INSYS Therapeutics Inc
$41
Trevena, Inc.
$35
Bioventus LLC
$34
Micromed Inc
$33
Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$32
Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.
$31
Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc.
$28
Purdue Pharma L.P.
$27
FIDIA PHARMA USA INC.
$24
Azurity Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$23
BIOTISSUE HOLDINGS INC.
$22
Valinor Pharma, LLC
$21
ZOLL Services LLC (A/K/A ZOLL LifeCor Corp)
$21
Shionogi Inc
$19
BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc.
$19
Averitas Pharma Inc.
$19
IBSA Pharma Inc.
$18
Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$17
Zyla Life Sciences
$16
Zyla Life Sciences, Inc.
$13
Avanos Medical
$13
ASSERTIO THERAPEUTICS, INC.
$13
BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION
$13
Almatica Pharma LLC
$12
SPR Therapeutics, Inc
$10
Top 3 companies account for 54.1% of all-time payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
ACCURIAN · ARYMO ER · BELBUCA · COOLIEF* COOLED RADIOFREQUENCY · DUEXIS · GELSYN 3 · GENERAL PAIN MANAGEMENT · GENERAL THERAPIES · Gralise · HETLIOZ · HORIZANT · Horizant · Hymovis · INTELLIS · INTELLIS ADAPTIVESTIM · KYPHON Balloon Kyphoplasty · KYPHON EXPRESS II KYPHOPAK TRAY · LICART · LYRICA · LifeVest · MOVANTIK · Morphabond ER · Movantik · N'VISION · NAPRELAN · Nexwave · OLINVYK · PENNSAID · PRIALT · PROCLAIM · Prialt · Proclaim Family of SCS IPGs · Protege Family of SCS IPGs · QUTENZA · RAYOS · RELISTOR · RESTORE · SEGLENTIS · SPECTRA WAVEWRITER · SPRINT PNS System · SPRIX · SUBSYS · SYMPROIC · Seglentis · Senza Spinal Cord Stimulation System · Subsys · Symproic · WaveWriter Alpha Prime 16 · XTAMPZA · XTAMPZAER · ZTLido · ZTLido 30 POUCH in 1 CARTON 1 PATCH in 1 POUCH · Zynrelef
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 →
Most payments (100%) are for meals and travel — low-value interactions that are common across virtually all practicing physicians.
Geographic Context
Pain medicines within 10 mi
93
Per 100K population
2.9
County median income
$113,702
Nearest hospital
UCI HEALTH - LOS ALAMITOS
0.0 mi
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. Chou is a clinical cardiology specialist, with above-average Medicare volume (top 9% in CA), with low-engagement industry engagement, with 20 years of NPI registration.
This summary is auto-generated from federal data, describing data availability and patterns. Read our methodology →
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dr. Chou experienced with office visit, established patient (30-39 min)?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Chou performed 1,729 office visit, established patient (30-39 min) 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. Chou receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Chou received a total of $8,378 from 46 companies across 399 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. Chou's costs compare to other pain medicines in Los Alamitos?
Dr. Chou's average Medicare payment per service is $67. 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. Chou) 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.
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