Medicare Enrolled

Dr. Joel Fernandez, M.D.

Cardiovascular Disease · Lakeland, FL
Practice pattern: Clinical Cardiology— Primarily office-based clinical cardiology
Speaking/Promotional
130 PABLO ST, Lakeland, FL 33803
8632845020
In practice since 2006 (19 years)
NPI: 1700829769 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. Fernandez 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. Fernandez

Dr. Joel Fernandez is a cardiovascular disease in Lakeland, FL, with 19 years in practice. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Fernandez performed 1,799 Medicare services across 1,086 unique beneficiaries.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Fernandez received a total of $64,133 from 19 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 144 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. Fernandez 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.

✓ 19 years in practice▲ 1,799 Medicare services$ $64,133 industry payments

Medicare Practice Summary

Medicare Utilization ↗
1,799
Medicare services
Bottom 42% in FL for cardiovascular disease
1,086
Unique beneficiaries
$77
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · Not a quality rating · How to read this →
~95 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.

ProcedureVolumeAvg. paidAvg. submitted
Office visit, established patient (30-39 min)596$92$383
Regadenoson injection (Lexiscan) for heart stress test200$44$185
Electrocardiogram (EKG), 12-lead196$10$44
Technetium tc-99m sestamibi, diagnostic, per study dose128$90$338
Hospital follow-up visit, high complexity107$95$321
Remote patient monitoring device, 30 days76$34$158
Exercise or drug-induced heart stress test with electrocardiogram (ecg) with supervision and review by physician73$48$212
Anticoagulant management of patient taking warfarin73$9$34
Drug injection, under skin or into muscle66$11$43
Nuclear medicine studies of heart muscle at rest and with stress and spect65$329$1,327
Initial hospital admission, high complexity42$134$598
Insertion of tube in right heart chambers for measurement31$104$557
Office visit, established patient, complex (40-54 min)24$143$545
Hospital discharge day management, 30 minutes or less24$64$216
Telephone medical discussion with physician, 5-10 minutes21$40$167
Heart rhythm review, and interpretation of continous external ekg over more than 48 hours up to 7 days17$19$74
Office visit, established patient (20-29 min)17$68$273
Nuclear medicine study, spect imaging, 1 area or single acquisition, single day imaging16$263$1,071
Ultrasound of heart14$99$414
New patient office visit (45-59 min)13$106$507
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 ↗
$64,133
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $9,162/year across 7 years
Top 7% in FL for cardiovascular disease
19
Companies
144
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
$61,164 (95.4%)
Meals & Travel
Food, beverages, travel, and lodging — typically low-value
$2,969 (4.6%)

Payment trend by year

Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

2024
$488
2023
$319
2022
$5,208
2021
$2,081
2020
$6,286
2019
$23,575
2018
$26,175

Payments by company (2024)

Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$26,791
United Therapeutics Corporation
$20,254
Philips Electronics North America Corporation
$7,158
ZOLL Services LLC (A/K/A ZOLL LifeCor Corp)
$4,220
PFIZER INC.
$2,643
Abbott Laboratories
$1,671
Astellas Pharma US Inc
$499
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$383
Inspire Medical Systems, Inc.
$132
Boston Scientific Corporation
$125
Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.
$90
Gilead Sciences, Inc.
$31
ARBOR PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
$30
Sandoz Inc.
$23
Medtronic, Inc.
$21
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$19
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$16
Itamar Medical Inc
$14
iRhythm Technologies, Inc.
$13
Top 3 companies account for 84.5% of total payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
AMVUTTRA · Adempas · Bidil · CARDIOMEMS · CardioMEMS HF System · Clin.Inform.Solution · Edarbi · GENERAL THERAPIES · Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation System · JARDIANCE · LEXISCAN · LifeVest · MYCARELINK · Mitra Clip system · MitraClip System · NONE · ONPATTRO · OPSUMIT MACITENTAN · ORENITRAM · REMODULIN · Ranexa · TREPROSTINIL · UPTRAVI · VYNDAQEL · WatchPAT · XARELTO · ZIO Patch
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 (95%) 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 7% for cardiovascular disease in FL.

Equivalent to $3,565 per 100 Medicare services performed
Looking for a cardiovascular disease in Lakeland?
Compare cardiovascular diseases in the Lakeland area by procedure volume, costs, and industry payment transparency.
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Geographic Context

Cardiovascular Diseases within 10 mi
70
Per 100K population
9.2
County median income
$63,644
Nearest hospital
LAKELAND REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
6.0 mi

Data Sources

Provider Registry NPPESWeekly updates
Medicare Enrollment PECOSMonthly updates
Practice Data Medicare Util.Annual (CY lag)
Industry Payments Open PaymentsCY 2024
Disciplinary History— Not publicN/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. Fernandez is a clinical cardiology specialist, with moderate Medicare volume, and high industry engagement (speaking/promotional, top 7%), with 19 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. Fernandez experienced with office visit, established patient (30-39 min)?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Fernandez performed 596 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. Fernandez receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Fernandez received a total of $64,133 from 19 companies across 144 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. Fernandez's costs compare to other cardiovascular diseases in Lakeland?
Dr. Fernandez's average Medicare payment per service is $77. 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. Fernandez) 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 →
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

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 →