Medicare Enrolled
Dr. Christopher Estel, M.D.
Interventional Cardiology · Gainesville, FL
Practice pattern: Electrophysiology & Cardiac— Practice combining electrophysiology and cardiac services
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. Estel 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. Estel? Request a correction or review of any data shown here. Provider portal →
What this data tells you about Dr. Estel
Dr. Christopher Estel is an interventional cardiology in Gainesville, FL, with 15 years in practice. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Estel performed 5,665 Medicare services across 3,881 unique beneficiaries.
Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Estel received a total of $7,691 from 29 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 269 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in interventional cardiology. Most payments are for meals and travel — low-value interactions common across virtually all practicing physicians. Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.
The Data Coverage level for Dr. Estel is Very High — reflecting how much public federal data is available about this provider. This is not a quality rating. Patients are encouraged to use this data as one of several factors when choosing a healthcare provider.
✓ 15 years in practice▲ Top 19% volume in FL$ $7,691 industry payments
Medicare Practice Summary
Medicare Utilization ↗5,665
Medicare services
Top 19% in FL for interventional cardiology
3,881
Unique beneficiaries
$93
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · Not a quality rating · How to read this →
~378 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrocardiogram (EKG), 12-lead | 919 | $10 | $34 |
| Office visit, established patient (30-39 min) | 814 | $85 | $216 |
| Regadenoson injection (Lexiscan) for heart stress test | 572 | $43 | $113 |
| Echocardiogram, transthoracic | 216 | $138 | $414 |
| Rubidium rb-82, diagnostic, per study dose, up to 60 millicuries | 194 | $310 | $798 |
| Remote pacemaker monitoring, 90 days | 183 | $20 | $63 |
| Exercise or drug-induced heart stress test with electrocardiogram (ecg) with supervision and review by physician | 169 | $51 | $142 |
| Prothrombin time test (blood clotting) | 165 | $4 | $11 |
| Technetium tc-99m sestamibi, diagnostic, per study dose | 132 | $85 | $236 |
| Evaluation of implantable heart and blood vessel monitoring system, remote up to 30 days | 127 | $19 | $54 |
| Ultrasound of leg arteries or artery grafts | 123 | $176 | $516 |
| Initial hospital admission, high complexity | 120 | $137 | $415 |
| Office visit, established patient, complex (40-54 min) | 102 | $126 | $293 |
| Remote pacemaker/defibrillator monitoring, 90 days | 101 | $15 | $52 |
| Programming of dual lead pacemaker system | 90 | $55 | $117 |
| Use of a drug to induce depression of consciousness by physician performing a procedure, each additional 15 minutes | 88 | $9 | $22 |
| Hospital follow-up visit, moderate complexity | 86 | $62 | $149 |
| Nuclear medicine studies of blood flow in heart muscle at rest and with stress | 83 | $1,150 | $2,954 |
| Cardiac catheterization | 82 | $209 | $682 |
| Hospital follow-up visit, high complexity | 77 | $94 | $213 |
| Remote patient monitoring device, 30 days | 73 | $37 | $106 |
| Telephone medical discussion with physician, 11-20 minutes | 67 | $64 | $154 |
| Nuclear medicine studies of heart muscle at rest and with stress and spect | 66 | $306 | $962 |
| Evaluation of single, dual, or multiple lead implantable defibrillator system, remote up to 90 days | 66 | $26 | $111 |
| Physician review, interpretation, and patient management of home inr testing for patient with either mechanical heart valve(s), chronic atrial fibrillation, or venous thromboembolism who meets medicare coverage criteria; testing not occurring more frequent | 64 | $6 | $18 |
| New patient office visit (45-59 min) | 62 | $122 | $334 |
| Injection, midazolam hydrochloride, per 1 mg | 58 | $0 | $1 |
| Heart muscle strain imaging | 49 | $27 | $80 |
| Injection, fentanyl citrate, 0.1 mg | 49 | $1 | $1 |
| Heart rhythm recording continous external ekg over more than 48 hours up to 7 days | 45 | $8 | $58 |
| Remote patient monitoring management, 20 min/month | 45 | $37 | $100 |
| Heart rhythm review, and interpretation of continous external ekg over more than 48 hours up to 7 days | 42 | $17 | $54 |
| Coagulation time measurement, activated | 38 | $4 | $12 |
| Coronary stent placement | 38 | $437 | $1,290 |
| Ultrasound evaluation of heart blood vessel or graft with review by radiologist, initial vessel | 32 | $76 | $206 |
| Use of a drug to induce depression of consciousness by physician performing a procedure (5 years or older), initial 15 minutes | 30 | $38 | $102 |
| Ultrasound of one leg arteries or artery grafts | 25 | $94 | $260 |
| Ultrasound evaluation of blood vessel with review by radiologist, initial vessel | 23 | $725 | $2,679 |
| Heart rhythm review and interpretation of continous external ekg over 8-15 days | 23 | $19 | $54 |
| Office visit, established patient (20-29 min) | 21 | $66 | $147 |
| Telephone medical discussion with physician, 21-30 minutes | 21 | $85 | $224 |
| Blood draw (venipuncture) | 20 | $8 | $10 |
| Blood count, hemoglobin | 19 | $2 | $7 |
| Heart rhythm recording of continous external ekg over 8-15 days | 19 | $8 | $58 |
| Blood test, basic group of blood chemicals (calcium, ionized) | 17 | $13 | $23 |
| Red blood cell concentration measurement | 17 | $2 | $7 |
| Ultrasound of heart, follow-up | 17 | $68 | $208 |
| Ultrasound of heart blood flow, valves and chambers, follow-up | 17 | $19 | $54 |
| Ultrasound of heart with color-depicted blood flow, rate and valve function | 17 | $18 | $50 |
| Programming of multiple lead implantable defibrillator system | 16 | $76 | $171 |
| Insertion of tube in left lower heart chamber, coronary artery and bypass graft for diagnosis with review by radiologist | 16 | $222 | $731 |
| Remote monitoring of physiologic parameters, initial set-up and patient education on use of equipment | 16 | $14 | $40 |
| Nuclear medicine studies of blood flow in heart muscle at rest and with stress with concurrent ct scan | 15 | $2,094 | $5,342 |
| Nuclear medicine study of heart muscle blood flow by pet | 15 | $139 | $355 |
| Injection, aminophyllin, up to 250 mg | 14 | $6 | $14 |
| External shock to heart to regulate heart beat | 13 | $74 | $322 |
| Exercise or drug-induced heart stress test with electrocardiogram (ecg) with supervision by physician | 13 | $16 | $45 |
| Exercise or drug-induced heart stress test with electrocardiogram (ecg) with review by physician | 13 | $11 | $30 |
| Electrocardiogram (ecg) up to 30 days continuous with symptom monitoring, transmission and review and report by health care professional | 11 | $19 | $52 |
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.
16.0% high complexity
23.6% medium
60.4% routine
Industry Payment Transparency
Open Payments through 2024 ↗$7,691
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $1,099/year across 7 years
Bottom 45% in FL for interventional cardiology
29
Companies
269
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
$6,950 (90.4%)
Consulting
Expert advisory fees, typically reflecting recognized clinical expertise
$715 (9.3%)
Speaking / Promotional
Speaker programs, honoraria, and industry-sponsored educational events
$26 (0.3%)
Payment trend by year
Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
2024$1,143
2023$658
2022$970
2021$443
2020$1,410
2019$2,116
2018$950
Payments by company (2024)
Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
Cook Medical LLC
$1,138
GlaxoSmithKline, LLC.
$1,116
Abbott Laboratories
$885
Amgen Inc.
$637
Penumbra, Inc.
$531
AngioDynamics, Inc.
$531
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
$379
Medtronic, Inc.
$375
Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc.
$365
Cardiovascular Systems Inc.
$330
Medtronic Vascular, Inc.
$234
E.R. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.
$228
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
$147
PFIZER INC.
$146
Boston Scientific Corporation
$114
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
$108
ACIST MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.
$66
Acist Medical Systems, Inc.
$62
Philips Electronics North America Corporation
$60
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$58
Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, plc
$40
ZOLL Services LLC (A/K/A ZOLL LifeCor Corp)
$29
CARDIVA MEDICAL, INC.
$26
ShockWave Medical, Inc
$22
Smith+Nephew, Inc.
$18
Inspire Medical Systems, Inc.
$14
Recor Medical Inc
$13
Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd.
$13
Neovasc Medical Inc
$7
Top 3 companies account for 40.8% of total payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
3F · ADVANCE · ALPHAVAC · AMPLATZ · AURYON LASER SYSTEM 100-120 VAC · AVVIGO Guidance System · Advance · Allura Xper FD 20 · Amplatz · Arcalyst · BEACON TIP TORCON NB · BRILINTA · BYDUREON · CAMZYOS · CARDIVA VASCADE MVP VVCS 6-12F · COOK · COOK MEDICAL CATHETERS · COOK MEDICAL FILTERS · COOK MEDICAL SELF-EXPANDING STENT · COOK MEDICAL ZILVER PTX · COREVALVE EVOLUT R · CVI SYSTEMS · Cook Medical Angioplasty · Cook Medical Catheters · Cook Medical Micropuncture · Cook Medical Peripheral Intervention · Cook Medical Self-Expanding Stent · Cook Medical Wire Guides · Cook Medical Zilver PTX · Corlanor · Coronary Orbital Atherectomy System · DRAGONFLY OPSTAR · Diamondback Peripheral · ELIQUIS · ENTRESTO · Edwards SAPIEN 3 Ultra Transcatheter Heart Valve · FARXIGA · FFRANGIO · FLEXOR · FORMULA 418 · General - Stents · General - Therapies · HD-IVUS · Halo One Thin-Walled Guiding Sheath · INSPIRE · Indigo · Indigo System · LEQVIO · LUTONIX · LifeVest · Lutonix Drug Coated Balloon · MICROPUNCTURE · Micropuncture · NESTER · ONYX FRONTIER · Omnilink Elite vascular stent system · Optis Coronary Imaging System · PARADISE RENAL DENERVATION SYSTEM · Penumbra System · Perclose ProGlide suture mediated closure system · Peripheral Orbital Atherectomy System · RESONATE EL ICD VR · ROSEN · Repatha · RotarexS 6 F x 135 cm · Ruby · Santyl · TELESCOPE · TORNADO · TRUE FLOW · Telescope · Torcon NB · VENOVO · VIGILANT X4 CRT-D · VYNDAQEL · Vascular Lithotripsy · Venovo · XARELTO · Xience Sierra Coronary Stent · Xience cornary stent systems · ZILVER PTX · Zilver PTX · Zilver Vena
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 (90%) are for meals and travel — low-value interactions that are common across virtually all practicing physicians.
Equivalent to $136 per 100 Medicare services performed
Geographic Context
Interventional Cardiologys within 10 mi
10
Per 100K population
3.5
County median income
$59,659
Nearest hospital
HCA FLORIDA NORTH FLORIDA HOSPITAL
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 measures how much public data is available about a provider — not how good they are. How we calculate this →
Summary
Dr. Estel is a electrophysiology & cardiac specialist, with above-average Medicare volume (top 19% in FL), and low-engagement industry engagement, with 15 years of practice experience.
This summary is auto-generated from federal data. It describes data availability and patterns — not clinical quality. Read our methodology →
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dr. Estel experienced with electrocardiogram (ekg), 12-lead?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Estel performed 919 electrocardiogram (ekg), 12-lead 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. Estel receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Estel received a total of $7,691 from 29 companies across 269 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. Estel's costs compare to other interventional cardiologys in Gainesville?
Dr. Estel's average Medicare payment per service is $93. 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. Estel) 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 →
Explore related providers
Same specialty & city
Interventional Cardiologys in Gainesville
Browse interventional cardiologys in Gainesville ranked by procedure volume and transparency data.
Highest volume
Top Interventional Cardiologys in FL
Interventional Cardiologys ranked by total Medicare services performed statewide.
Industry payments
Pharma Payments to Interventional Cardiologys in FL
Which FL interventional cardiologys receive the most from drug and device companies.
By company
Cook Medical LLC Payments to Doctors
See all physicians who received payments from Cook Medical LLC.
By company
GlaxoSmithKline, LLC. Payments to Doctors
See all physicians who received payments from GlaxoSmithKline, LLC..
By company
Abbott Laboratories Payments to Doctors
See all physicians who received payments from Abbott Laboratories.
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. The Transparency Score measures 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