Medicare Enrolled
Dr. Zi-Jian Xu, M.D.
Cardiovascular Disease · Sacramento, CA
Practice pattern: Clinical Cardiology
— Primarily office-based clinical cardiology
Speaking/Promotional
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. Xu 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. Xu
Dr. Zi-Jian Xu is a cardiovascular disease specialist in Sacramento, CA, with 20 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Xu performed 3,203 Medicare services across 1,629 unique beneficiaries.
Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Xu received a total of $51,143 from 25 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 199 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. Xu 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 34% volume in CA
$51,143 industry payments
Medicare Practice Summary
Medicare Utilization ↗3,203
Medicare services
Top 34% in CA for cardiovascular disease
1,629
Unique beneficiaries
$73
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · How to read this →
~160 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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. |
532 | $99 | $345 |
| Evaluation of lower heart chamber assist device Assessment of the function and status of a device that assists the lower chambers of the heart. |
385 | $32 | $213 |
| 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. |
288 | $91 | $343 |
| EKG interpretation and report A standard electrocardiogram test that records the heart's electrical activity using at least 12 leads. The service includes a professional interpretation of the results and a written report. |
251 | $6 | $37 |
| 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. |
248 | $175 | $902 |
| Remote pacemaker/defibrillator monitoring, 90 days Remote evaluation of a pacemaker or implantable defibrillator system within 90 days of the last check. |
149 | $20 | $111 |
| Electrocardiogram (EKG), 12-lead A standard heart rhythm test using at least 12 leads to record electrical activity. A healthcare provider interprets the results and provides a written report. |
140 | $11 | $72 |
| Echocardiogram, transthoracic An ultrasound of the heart that uses color to show blood flow, rate, direction, and valve function. |
115 | $153 | $746 |
| Echocardiogram with color Doppler An ultrasound of the heart that uses color imaging to visualize blood flow, measure flow rate, and assess valve function. |
95 | $3 | $15 |
| Remote pacemaker monitoring, 90 days Remote assessment of a pacemaker system, including single, dual, multiple lead, or leadless devices, performed up to 90 days apart. |
91 | $24 | $133 |
| Regadenoson injection (Lexiscan) for heart stress test An injection of regadenoson, a medication used to stress the heart during diagnostic testing. |
88 | $41 | $150 |
| Follow-up heart ultrasound An ultrasound of the heart performed to monitor or reassess a previously identified condition or treatment progress. |
83 | $21 | $110 |
| Remote monitoring of implantable heart rhythm device Evaluation of data transmitted remotely from an implantable cardiovascular monitor, such as a loop recorder or subcutaneous cardiac rhythm monitor, over a period up to 30 days. |
74 | $75 | $109 |
| 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. |
72 | $147 | $461 |
| 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. |
70 | $145 | $663 |
| 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. |
67 | $10 | $215 |
| Remote monitoring of implantable heart device, up to 30 days Remote evaluation of an implanted heart or blood vessel monitoring system over a period of up to 30 days. |
60 | $21 | $102 |
| Remote evaluation of implantable defibrillator system Remote assessment of a single, dual, or multiple lead implantable defibrillator system within 90 days of the previous evaluation. |
58 | $30 | $254 |
| Follow-up ultrasound of heart blood flow, valves and chambers An ultrasound exam that follows up on the heart's blood flow, valves, and chambers. It uses sound waves to create images of the heart's structure and function. |
46 | $6 | $32 |
| Technetium Tc-99m tetrofosmin diagnostic injection A diagnostic injection of Technetium Tc-99m tetrofosmin used for imaging studies. |
46 | $76 | $318 |
| Transesophageal echocardiogram An ultrasound of the heart performed using a probe inserted into the esophagus to obtain detailed images of heart structures and function. |
41 | $89 | $444 |
| Echocardiogram, transthoracic An ultrasound test that uses sound waves to create images of the heart's blood flow, valves, and chambers. |
29 | $15 | $69 |
| Heart muscle biopsy A procedure to remove a small sample of heart muscle tissue for laboratory examination. |
29 | $166 | $894 |
| Nuclear stress test of heart muscle A nuclear medicine imaging test that evaluates blood flow to the heart muscle at rest and during stress using a special camera. |
23 | $393 | $2,149 |
| Exercise or drug-induced heart stress test with ECG A heart stress test performed using exercise or medication while monitoring the electrocardiogram under physician supervision and review. |
23 | $51 | $311 |
| Right heart catheterization A procedure where a thin, flexible tube is inserted into the right side of the heart to measure pressure and oxygen levels. |
22 | $102 | $608 |
| Heart muscle strain imaging | 19 | $33 | $175 |
| Cardiac catheterization | 18 | $227 | $1,296 |
| New patient office visit, complex (60-74 min) | 18 | $171 | $656 |
| 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. |
12 | $141 | $521 |
| Stress echocardiogram with ECG monitoring An ultrasound of the heart performed while monitoring heart rhythm during rest, exercise, or medication-induced stress, followed by a review and report of the findings. |
11 | $205 | $927 |
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.
16.5% high complexity
14.3% medium
69.2% routine
Industry Payment Transparency
Open Payments through 2024 ↗$51,143
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $7,306/year across 7 years
Top 10% in CA for cardiovascular disease
A higher payment rank reflects disclosed industry relationships (consulting, research, speaking) common among subspecialists — not wrongdoing.
25
Companies
199
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.
Speaking / Promotional
Speaker programs, honoraria, and industry-sponsored educational events
$38,617 (75.5%)
Meals & Travel
Food, beverages, travel, and lodging — typically low-value
$12,526 (24.5%)
Payment trend by year
Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
2024
$22,813
2023
$11,128
2022
$1,832
2021
$1,525
2020
$4,491
2019
$2,934
2018
$6,420
Payments by company (2024)
Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
E.R. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.
$17,979
Abbott Laboratories
$1,560
BrioHealth Solutions, Inc.
$1,500
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
$1,369
ZOLL Services LLC (A/K/A ZOLL LifeCor Corp)
$146
ABIOMED
$140
Gilead Sciences, Inc.
$119
Top 3 companies account for 92.2% of 2024 payments
All-time payments by company (2018-2024) ›
E.R. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.
$27,748
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
$6,228
Abbott Laboratories
$5,466
PFIZER INC.
$3,815
ABIOMED
$1,877
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
$1,684
BrioHealth Solutions, Inc.
$1,500
ZOLL Services LLC (A/K/A ZOLL LifeCor Corp)
$955
Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.
$428
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
$230
BIOTRONIK INC.
$170
Gilead Sciences, Inc.
$151
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$149
Vertos Medical, Inc.
$132
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$130
SANOFI-AVENTIS U.S. LLC
$97
Amgen Inc.
$87
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$78
Akcea Therapeutics, Inc.
$53
Relypsa, Inc.
$46
Boston Scientific Corporation
$30
Vifor Pharma, Inc.
$27
Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc.
$27
Itamar Medical Inc
$23
Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.
$12
Top 3 companies account for 77.1% of all-time payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
2ND GEN CENTRIMAG PRIMARY CONSOLE · AMPLATZER Vascular Plug and Accs · BRIOVAD · Bioprosthetic Mitral Valve · CAMZYOS · CARDIOMEMS · CardioMEMS HF System · Circulatory Support · Confirm Rx · Corlanor · DEFINITY · ENTRESTO · EVOQUE · Edwards SAPIEN 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve · FARXIGA · GENERAL BRADY · HeartMate · HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Assist Device · HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Dev · Impella · JARDIANCE · LOKELMA · LifeVest · MITRACLIP · Mitra Clip system · MitraClip System · ONPATTRO · OPSUMIT MACITENTAN · PRALUENT · Repatha · TEGSEDI · THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT · UPTRAVI · VYNDAQEL · Veltassa · Vemlidy · WatchPAT · XARELTO · mild Device Kit
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 (76%) 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 10% for cardiovascular disease in CA.
Geographic Context
Cardiologists within 10 mi
153
Per 100K population
9.7
County median income
$88,724
Nearest hospital
SUTTER MEDICAL CENTER, SACRAMENTO
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. Xu is a clinical cardiology specialist, with moderate Medicare volume, with speaking/promotional industry engagement in the top 10% of CA peers, 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. Xu experienced with hospital follow-up visit, high complexity?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Xu performed 532 hospital follow-up visit, high complexity 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. Xu receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Xu received a total of $51,143 from 25 companies across 199 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. Xu's costs compare to other cardiologists in Sacramento?
Dr. Xu's average Medicare payment per service is $73. 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. Xu) 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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