Medicare Enrolled

Dr. Vijaykumar Patel, MD

Thoracic Surgery · Augusta, GA
Practice pattern: Cardiac Surgery — Surgically focused practice
1120 15TH STREET, Augusta, GA 30912
7067213226
Registered in NPPES since 2006
NPI: 1922108976 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. Patel 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. Patel

Dr. Vijaykumar Patel is a thoracic surgery specialist in Augusta, GA, with 19 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Patel performed 73 Medicare services in 2023. These records do not provide a deduplicated patient total.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Patel received a total of $18,376 from 20 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 147 payment records. A record can group multiple payments. These transfers are publicly reported through CMS Open Payments. Disclosure alone does not establish their effect on care. A reliable breakdown by payment category is not available in this snapshot. Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.

The Data Coverage level for Dr. Patel 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 of NPI registration ▲ 73 Medicare services $18,376 industry payments

Medicare Practice Summary — 2023

Medicare Utilization ↗
73
Medicare services
Bottom 28% in GA for thoracic surgery
Lower Medicare volume may reflect subspecialty focus, hospital-based work, or a higher share of non-Medicare patients.
Not available
Unique patients (not deduplicated)
$226
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · How to read this →

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
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.
 22 $605 $5,685
Endoscopic vein harvest
A surgical procedure to remove a vein using an endoscope, which is a thin, lighted tube inserted through small incisions.
 21 $6 $283
Left atrial appendage exclusion
Surgical closure of the left atrial appendage of the heart, performed as part of another chest procedure.
 19 $48 $317
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.
 11 $198 $1,207
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. These counts do not measure clinical quality or years of experience.
45.2% high complexity
0.0% medium
54.8% routine

Industry Payment Transparency

Open Payments through 2024 ↗
$18,376
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $2,625/year across 7 years
Top 20% in GA for thoracic surgery
A higher payment rank reflects disclosed industry relationships (consulting, research, speaking) common among subspecialists — not wrongdoing.
20
Companies
147
Payment records
Payments are publicly reported; disclosure does not establish legality · Not evidence of wrongdoing · How to interpret →

Payment categories are unavailable while the source breakdown is being rebuilt. Company and year totals do not identify how much belongs to each category.

Payment trend by year

Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

2024
$616
2023
$3,093
2022
$2,315
2021
$1,472
2020
$172
2019
$7,632
2018
$3,075

Payments by company (2024)

ATRICURE, INC.
$239
ABIOMED
$132
Inari Medical, Inc.
$128
Abbott Laboratories
$85
Electromed, Inc.
$15
Solventum Corporation
$15
Top 3 companies account for 81.1% of 2024 payments
All-time payments by company (2018-2024) ›
Medtronic Vascular, Inc.
$3,801
ABIOMED
$3,484
ATRICURE, INC.
$3,007
AngioDynamics, Inc.
$1,738
AtriCure, Inc.
$1,605
Intuitive Surgical, Inc.
$1,426
Abbott Laboratories
$921
Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.
$894
Covidien LP
$645
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
$193
CVRx, Inc.
$136
Inari Medical, Inc.
$128
Electromed, Inc.
$102
PFIZER INC.
$86
ZOLL Services LLC (A/K/A ZOLL LifeCor Corp)
$69
Harmony Biosciences LLC
$41
Medtronic, Inc.
$33
Getinge USA Sales, LLC
$33
HemoSonics LLC
$17
Solventum Corporation
$15
Top 3 companies account for 56.0% of all-time payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
3M Cavilon · ACC2 CARDIAC CRYOSURGICAL SYSTEM · ACC2 Cardiac Cryosurgical System · AMPLATZER Occluders · ATRICURE ATRICLIP LAA EXCLUSION · ATRICURE CRYOICE CRYOSPHERE CRYOABLATION SYSTEM · ATRICURE SYNERGY ABLATION SYSTEM · Aortic and Mitral Tissue Stented Valves · AtriCure AtriClip LAA Exclusion System · AtriCure Synergy Ablation System · Barostim Neo System · CMF Orthognathic · COREVALVE EVOLUT R · Cardiohelp · CoreValve Evolut · Da Vinci Surgical System · ELIQUIS · EPI-SENSE GUIDED COAGULATION SYSTEM WITH VISITRAX · FLOWTRIEVER CATHETER · HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Assist Device · HeartMate Touch · INSPIRIS RESILIA aortic valve · Impella · LifeVest · Mitra Clip system · QUANTRA QPLUS SYSTEM · RibFix Blu · S · SMARTVEST · SYNERGY ABLATION SYSTEM · Sonicision · SternaLock Blu · THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT · Tri-Ad · Trifecta GT Tissue Heart Valve · Wakix
Should you be concerned? Industry payments are disclosed through CMS Open Payments. Disclosure alone does not establish their purpose, legality, or effect on care. 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 →
Looking for a thoracic surgery specialist in Augusta?
Compare thoracic surgerists in the Augusta area by procedure volume, costs, and industry payment transparency.
Browse thoracic surgerists nearby

Geographic Context

Thoracic surgerists in nearby ZIP areas
15
County median income
$53,197
Nearest hospital to ZIP centroid (approximate)
WELLSTAR MCG HEALTH, AFFILIATED WITH MED COL
0.0 mi

Data Sources

Provider Registry ✓ NPPES NPPES snapshot; verify current record
Medicare Enrollment ✓ PECOS PECOS snapshot
Practice Data ✓ Medicare Util. Annual (CY lag)
Industry Payments ✓ Open Payments CY 2024
Disciplinary History — Not included 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. Patel is a cardiac surgery specialist, with moderate Medicare volume, 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. Patel experienced with coronary artery bypass graft, 1 artery?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Patel performed 22 coronary artery bypass graft, 1 artery services. These records cover Medicare fee-for-service activity, including eligible younger beneficiaries; they do not measure total practice volume or clinical quality.
Does Dr. Patel receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Patel received a total of $18,376 from 20 companies across 147 payment records. A record can group multiple payments. These transfers are publicly disclosed through CMS Open Payments. Disclosure alone does not establish their legality or effect on care. 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. Patel's costs compare to other thoracic surgerists in Augusta?
Dr. Patel's average Medicare payment per service is $226. 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. Patel) 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 the presence of registry, enrollment, activity or payment records, not verified experience or clinical quality. 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?
Source publication dates and the snapshots loaded on this site can differ. Rebuilding a page does not refresh its source records. Check the Medicare reporting year and the payment interval shown above; consult the linked official sources for newer releases and current registry details. See our data freshness policy →

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About this page

This page combines public CMS records with calculated summaries and explanatory procedure labels. These transformations are not verbatim federal records. Sources: 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. Industry payment disclosure alone establishes neither wrongdoing nor legality. 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 →