Medicare Enrolled

Dr. Derek Muehrcke, MD

Thoracic Surgery · St Augustine, FL
Practice pattern: Clinical Cardiology — Primarily office-based clinical cardiology
Consulting-driven
300 HEALTH PARK BLVD STE 5008, St Augustine, FL 32086
9044942394
In practice since 2005 (20 years)
NPI: 1568464774 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. Muehrcke 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. Muehrcke

Dr. Derek Muehrcke is a thoracic surgery specialist in St Augustine, FL, with 20 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Muehrcke performed 506 Medicare services across 482 unique beneficiaries.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Muehrcke received a total of $48,127 from 27 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 207 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in thoracic surgery. The majority of payments are for consulting, which typically reflects recognized clinical expertise sought by manufacturers. Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.

The Data Coverage level for Dr. Muehrcke 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.

✓ 20 years in practice ▲ Top 16% volume in FL $48,127 industry payments

Medicare Practice Summary

Medicare Utilization ↗
506
Medicare services
Top 16% in FL for thoracic surgery
482
Unique beneficiaries
$230
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · Not a quality rating · How to read this →
~25 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
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.
64 $122 $612
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.
63 $90 $495
Home health plan of care certification
Certification by a physician or allowed practitioner for Medicare-covered home health services under a home health plan of care. This includes contacting the home health agency and reviewing reports of patient status required by physicians.
58 $39 $160
Office visit, established patient (20-29 min)
An office visit for an existing patient lasting between 20 and 29 minutes. The visit involves medical evaluation and management of the patient's condition.
55 $60 $355
New patient office visit (30-44 min)
An initial office visit for a new patient lasting between 30 and 44 minutes. This code is used when the total time spent on the date of the encounter falls within this range.
46 $79 $450
Hospital follow-up visit, low complexity
Follow-up hospital visit for an established patient with straightforward or low-level medical decision making. The visit requires at least 25 minutes of time spent on the day of service.
32 $38 $143
Coronary artery bypass graft, 1 artery
Surgical procedure to bypass a blocked coronary artery using a graft from another artery. This restores blood flow to the heart muscle.
29 $1,407 $6,617
Office visit, established patient (10-19 min)
An office visit for an existing patient lasting 10 to 19 minutes. The visit involves medical evaluation and management of the patient's condition.
28 $44 $218
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.
24 $67 $342
Initial hospital admission, moderate complexity
Initial hospital inpatient or observation care for a new patient involving moderate-level medical decision making, with at least 55 minutes total time on the date of the encounter.
23 $98 $494
Arterial thrombectomy, chest, neck, or brain
A procedure to remove a blood clot and part of an artery in the chest, neck, or brain.
21 $907 $4,358
Coronary artery bypass graft, 2 grafts
A surgical procedure to restore blood flow to the heart by creating bypasses using two vein or artery grafts.
14 $338 $1,515
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.
14 $120 $538
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.
13 $617 $4,547
Aortic and groin artery graft repair, bilateral
Surgical repair of the aorta below the kidneys and groin arteries using a graft to restore blood flow. This procedure is performed for conditions other than rupture and includes radiologist review.
11 $1,026 $5,909
New patient office visit, complex (60-74 min) 11 $157 $666
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.
11.1% high complexity
0.0% medium
88.9% routine

Industry Payment Transparency

Open Payments through 2024 ↗
$48,127
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $6,875/year across 7 years
Top 14% in FL for thoracic surgery
27
Companies
207
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.

Consulting
Expert advisory fees, typically reflecting recognized clinical expertise
$37,521 (78.0%)
Meals & Travel
Food, beverages, travel, and lodging — typically low-value
$10,606 (22.0%)

Payment trend by year

Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

2024
$1,714
2023
$5,939
2022
$28,282
2021
$7,873
2020
$1,793
2019
$858
2018
$1,667

Payments by company (2024)

Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
Stryker Corporation
$37,628
ABIOMED
$2,262
W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
$1,978
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
$1,579
Team 1, Llc
$1,246
Endologix, Inc.
$1,208
Medtronic, Inc.
$779
Medtronic Vascular, Inc.
$267
Endologix LLC
$256
Arthrex, Inc.
$174
LSI SOLUTIONS INC
$118
Abbott Laboratories
$90
KLS-Martin L.P.
$90
Covidien LP
$77
Silk Road Medical, Inc.
$70
ClearFlow, Inc.
$64
KCI USA, Inc.
$39
Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.
$30
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
$28
CVRx, Inc.
$28
Ethicon US, LLC
$22
Cardiovascular Systems Inc.
$21
Solventum Corporation
$20
Getinge USA Sales, LLC
$15
Davol Inc.
$14
Chiesi USA, Inc.
$13
DAVOL INC.
$11
Top 3 companies account for 87.0% of total payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
1688 · AFX · AFX2 Bifurcated Endograft System · AIM (ADVANCED IMAGING MODALITY) · ARISTA AH · Arthrex · Barostim Neo System · CLEVIPREX · COR KNOT · COREVALVE EVOLUT R · CardioRoot · Conformable TAG Thoracic Endoprosthesis · CoreValve Evolut · Diamondback Coronary · ECHELON ENDOPATH · EDWARDS SAPIEN 3 TRANSCATHETER HEART VALVE (THV) · EDWARDS SAPIEN XT TRANSCATHETER HEART VALVE (THV) · ENDURANT IIS · ENROUTE Transcarotid Neuroprotection System · EXCLUDER Conformable AAA Endoprosthesis with Active Control · Edwards SAPIEN 3 Ultra Transcatheter Heart Valve · Endurant · FLOUROSCOPY STRETCHER · GORE EXCLUDER AAA Endoprosthesis · GORE EXCLUDER Iliac Branch Endoprosthesis · GORE TAG Conformable Thoracic Endoprosthesis · GORE TAG Thoracic Branch Endoprosthesis · HELI-FX ENDOANCHOR SYSTEM · IMFINZI · Impella · MITRACLIP · Mosaic · ONYX FRONTIER · Ovation · PREVENA · PleuraFlow · Progel · SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA · SIGNET · SPY TECHNOLOGY · SPY-PHI SYSTEM · SternaLock Blu · Visia AF
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 (78%) are consulting fees, which typically reflect recognized clinical expertise sought by manufacturers.

Equivalent to $9,511 per 100 Medicare services performed
Looking for a thoracic surgery specialist in St Augustine?
Compare thoracic surgerists in the St Augustine area by procedure volume, costs, and industry payment transparency.
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Geographic Context

Thoracic surgerists within 10 mi
1
Per 100K population
0.3
County median income
$106,169
Nearest hospital
FLAGLER HOSPITAL
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. Muehrcke is a clinical cardiology specialist, with above-average Medicare volume (top 16% in FL), with consulting-driven industry engagement in the top 14% of FL peers, with 20 years of NPI registration.

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. Muehrcke experienced with new patient office visit (45-59 min)?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Muehrcke performed 64 new patient office visit (45-59 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. Muehrcke receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Muehrcke received a total of $48,127 from 27 companies across 207 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. Muehrcke's costs compare to other thoracic surgerists in St Augustine?
Dr. Muehrcke's average Medicare payment per service is $230. 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. Muehrcke) 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 →