Medicare Enrolled

Dr. Hewatt Sims, MD

Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine Physician · Douglas, GA
Practice pattern: Clinical Cardiology — Primarily office-based clinical cardiology
100 DOCTORS DR STE F, Douglas, GA 31533
9123836575
Registered in NPPES since 2006
NPI: 1386653061 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. Sims 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. Sims

Dr. Hewatt Sims is an orthopaedic surgery of the spine physician in Douglas, GA, with 20 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Sims performed 557 Medicare services in 2023. These records do not provide a deduplicated patient total.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Sims received a total of $385,180 from 30 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 115 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. Sims 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.

✓ 20 years of NPI registration ▲ 557 Medicare services $385,180 industry payments

Medicare Practice Summary — 2023

Medicare Utilization ↗
557
Medicare services
Bottom 25% in GA for orthopaedic surgery of the spine physician
Lower Medicare volume may reflect subspecialty focus, hospital-based work, or a higher share of non-Medicare patients.
Not available
Unique patients (not deduplicated)
$74
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
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.
198 $57 $186
X-ray of lower and sacral spine, 2-3 views
An X-ray imaging test that captures 2 to 3 views of the lower back and sacral spine to visualize the bones and joints in this area.
130 $24 $118
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.
74 $82 $278
X-ray of upper spine, 2-3 views
An X-ray imaging test of the upper spine using two to three different angles to visualize the bones and structures.
44 $24 $200
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.
44 $70 $276
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.
34 $111 $427
Spine fusion with cage or mesh device insertion
A surgical procedure to fuse spine bones by inserting a cage or mesh device into the disc space.
20 $178 $800
Partial removal of spine bone with nerve release, 1 segment
A surgical procedure involving the partial removal of a bone segment in the spine to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or nerves. This is performed on a single spinal segment.
13 $716 $5,731
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.
3.6% high complexity
0.0% medium
96.4% routine

Industry Payment Transparency

Open Payments through 2024 ↗
$385,180
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $55,026/year across 7 years
Top 15% in GA for orthopaedic surgery of the spine physician
A higher payment rank reflects disclosed industry relationships (consulting, research, speaking) common among subspecialists — not wrongdoing.
30
Companies
115
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
$50,726
2023
$48,096
2022
$1,360
2021
$36,275
2020
$54,823
2019
$109,414
2018
$84,488

Payments by company (2024)

PRECISION SPINE, INC.
$49,566
Spinal Simplicity, LLC
$548
Spineology Inc.
$485
DePuy Synthes Sales Inc.
$60
Amgen Inc.
$28
VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INCORPORATED
$21
Bioventus LLC
$18
Top 3 companies account for 99.8% of 2024 payments
All-time payments by company (2018-2024) ›
Precision Spine, Inc.
$106,675
MEDICAL INVESTMENT ADVISORS LLC
$82,868
PRECISION SPINE, INC.
$78,218
Arteriocyte Medical Systems, Inc.
$71,214
SPINEART SA
$36,045
Zavation LLC
$5,081
Intelivation Technologies, LLC
$1,750
Spineology Inc.
$1,605
Spinal Simplicity, LLC
$571
Boston Scientific Corporation
$416
BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION
$116
DePuy Synthes Sales Inc.
$84
Stryker Corporation
$80
Pacira Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
$52
Intrinsic Therapeutics
$52
Nalu Medical, Inc.
$47
Bioventus LLC
$36
Amgen Inc.
$28
Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.
$27
Smith+Nephew, Inc.
$24
WRIGHT MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY, INC.
$23
Flexion Therapeutics, Inc.
$22
Horizon Pharma plc
$21
SI-BONE, Inc.
$21
VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INCORPORATED
$21
SeaSpine Orthopedics Corporation
$20
PORTOLA PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
$19
Acacia Pharma Inc
$18
Wright Medical Technology, Inc.
$14
PFIZER INC.
$12
Top 3 companies account for 69.5% of all-time payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
ANDEXXA · AUGMENT · BONESCALPEL & SONICONE (O.R.) · BYFAVO · Ballast · Barricaid Annular Closure Device · DAKOTA ALIF SYSTEM · DUEXIS · EBI OsteoGen Implantable Bone Growth Stimulator · Exparel · FIBERGRAFT BG Morsels · GENERAL PAIN MANAGEMENT · GENERAL PAIN MANAGEMENT · General - Pain Management · HA MINUTEMAN G3-R · INTERVERTEBRAL BODY FUSION DEVICE · IVS - VERTEBRAL AUGMENTATION PRODUCTS · KRYSTEXXA · LIBERTY SI · MAKO · Nalu Neurostimulation System · Nexus · OPTIMESH EXPANDABLE INTERBODY FUSION SYSTEM · OptiMesh Interbody Fusion System · PERLA C · PICO 7 Single Use Negative Pressure Wound Therapy · RENASYS GO · Rampart Duo Interbody Fusion System · Reform Modular · Reform Pedicle Screw System · THROMBIN-JMI · Teligen · VAULT 2 · WAVEWRITER ALPHA · WaveWriter Alpha Prime 16 · XYCOR IBD SYSTEM · Zilretta · iFuse Implant
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 →
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Geographic Context

Orthopaedic surgery of the spine physicians in nearby ZIP areas
1
County median income
$50,175
Nearest hospital to ZIP centroid (approximate)
COFFEE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, INC
21.0 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. Sims is a clinical cardiology specialist, with moderate Medicare volume, with 20 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. Sims experienced with office visit, established patient (20-29 min)?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Sims performed 198 office visit, established patient (20-29 min) 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. Sims receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Sims received a total of $385,180 from 30 companies across 115 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. Sims's costs compare to other orthopaedic surgery of the spine physicians in Douglas?
Dr. Sims's average Medicare payment per service is $74. 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. Sims) 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 →
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.

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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 →