Medicare Enrolled

Dr. John Puskas, M.D.

Thoracic Surgery · Atlanta, GA
Practice pattern: Clinical Cardiology — Primarily office-based clinical cardiology
Mixed engagement
550 PEACHTREE ST NE, Atlanta, GA 30308
4046862513
In practice since 2006 (19 years)
NPI: 1457440018 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. Puskas 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. Puskas

Dr. John Puskas is a thoracic surgery specialist in Atlanta, GA, with 19 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Puskas performed 154 Medicare services across 147 unique beneficiaries.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Puskas received a total of $458,839 from 22 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 100 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in thoracic surgery. The majority of payments are classified as financial or ownership interests (royalties, licensing fees, or investment interests). Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.

The Data Coverage level for Dr. Puskas 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.

✓ 19 years in practice ▲ 154 Medicare services $458,839 industry payments

Medicare Practice Summary

Medicare Utilization ↗
154
Medicare services
Bottom 47% in GA for thoracic surgery
147
Unique beneficiaries
$634
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · How to read this →
~8 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, complex (60-74 min) 55 $162 $670
Harvest of arm artery for heart bypass
Surgical removal of a segment of artery from the arm to be used as a graft in a heart bypass procedure.
 33 $177 $3,000
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.
 22 $85 $310
Coronary artery bypass graft, 3 grafts using arteries
Surgical procedure to restore blood flow to the heart by creating three new pathways using arterial grafts.
 19 $2,335 $10,530
Coronary artery bypass graft, 4 grafts using arteries
A surgical procedure to restore blood flow to the heart by creating four new pathways using arterial grafts.
 14 $2,519 $11,360
Left atrial appendage exclusion
Surgical closure of the left atrial appendage of the heart, performed as part of another chest procedure.
 11 $125 $350
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.
42.9% high complexity
0.0% medium
57.1% routine

Industry Payment Transparency

Open Payments through 2024 ↗
$458,839
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $65,548/year across 7 years
Top 3% in GA for thoracic surgery
A higher payment rank reflects disclosed industry relationships (consulting, research, speaking) common among subspecialists — not wrongdoing.
22
Companies
100
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.

Financial / Ownership
Ownership or investment interests, royalties, and licensing fees
$293,715 (64.0%)
Speaking / Promotional
Speaker programs, honoraria, and industry-sponsored educational events
$108,850 (23.7%)
Consulting
Expert advisory fees, typically reflecting recognized clinical expertise
$30,000 (6.5%)
Meals & Travel
Food, beverages, travel, and lodging — typically low-value
$26,274 (5.7%)

Payment trend by year

Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

2024
$14,769
2023
$30,731
2022
$12,109
2021
$18,007
2020
$114,664
2019
$137,533
2018
$131,026

Payments by company (2024)

Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
Artivion, Inc.
$10,000
Medtronic, Inc.
$3,329
ATRICURE, INC.
$830
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
$189
HEARTFLOW, INC.
$138
Bolton Medical Inc
$132
INTUITIVE SURGICAL, INC.
$85
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
$67
Top 3 companies account for 95.9% of 2024 payments
All-time payments by company (2018-2024) ›
Scanlan International Inc
$293,715
Medtronic Vascular, Inc.
$87,694
Medtronic, Inc.
$36,006
Artivion, Inc.
$30,368
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
$7,672
ATRICURE, INC.
$858
Vascular Graft Solutions Inc
$444
AtriCure, Inc.
$409
CryoLife, Inc.
$314
ABIOMED
$221
Intuitive Surgical, Inc.
$174
Abbott Laboratories
$150
HEARTFLOW, INC.
$138
Bolton Medical Inc
$132
Maquet Cardiovascular L.L.C.
$127
Terumo Cardiovascular Systems Corporation
$119
Aesculap AG
$91
INTUITIVE SURGICAL, INC.
$85
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
$67
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$26
Ethicon US, LLC
$18
Bardy Diagnostics, Inc.
$14
Top 3 companies account for 91.0% of all-time payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
ATRICLIP LAA EXCLUSION SYSTEM · Acrobat-I Stabilizer · AtriCure AtriClip LAA Exclusion System · Avalus · BioGlue · C-PORT DISTAL ANASTOMOSIS SYSTEM · COREVALVE EVOLUT R · Carnation Ambulatory Monitor · Cobra Fusion Ablation System · CoreValve Evolut · DRAGONFLY OPSTAR · Da Vinci Surgical System · EPI-SENSE GUIDED COAGULATION SYSTEM WITH VISITRAX · FFRct · HARMONIC Product Family · HawkOne · Impella · KEYTRUDA · Mosaic · OCTOPUS · ON-X AORTIC HEART VALVE WITH CONFORM-X SEWING RING AND EXTENDED HOLDER · Octopus · On-X · SYMPLICITY G3 · TREO ABDOMINAL STENT-GRAFT SYSTEM · TurboHawk · VEST · Virtuosaph · XARELTO
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 →

Payments are distributed across multiple categories with no single dominant type. Total industry engagement is in the top 3% for thoracic surgery in GA.

Looking for a thoracic surgery specialist in Atlanta?
Compare thoracic surgerists in the Atlanta area by procedure volume, costs, and industry payment transparency.
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Geographic Context

Thoracic surgerists within 10 mi
75
Per 100K population
7.0
County median income
$91,490
Nearest hospital
EMORY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL MIDTOWN
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. Puskas is a clinical cardiology specialist, with moderate Medicare volume, with mixed engagement industry engagement in the top 3% of GA peers, with 19 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. Puskas experienced with new patient office visit, complex (60-74 min)?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Puskas performed 55 new patient office visit, complex (60-74 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. Puskas receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Puskas received a total of $458,839 from 22 companies across 100 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. Puskas's costs compare to other thoracic surgerists in Atlanta?
Dr. Puskas's average Medicare payment per service is $634. 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. Puskas) 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.

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 →