Dr. Christopher Brown, MD
What this data tells you about Dr. Brown
Dr. Christopher Brown is an orthopedic surgery specialist in Durham, NC, with 20 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Brown performed 1,788 Medicare services in 2023. These records do not provide a deduplicated patient total.
Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Brown received a total of $2,709,603 from 14 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 443 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. Brown 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.
Medicare Practice Summary — 2023
Medicare Utilization ↗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 (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. |
461 | $38 | $103 |
| 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. |
216 | $26 | $148 |
| 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. |
168 | $77 | $255 |
| 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. |
155 | $189 | $1,025 |
| Spinal fusion of additional segment A surgical procedure to join an additional section of the spine to the existing fusion. This is performed as a separate or subsequent step to stabilize more of the spinal column. |
138 | $289 | $2,150 |
| 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. |
138 | $26 | $91 |
| 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. |
93 | $64 | $172 |
| Anterior lumbar interbody fusion with partial disc removal A surgical procedure to fuse the lower spine bones by accessing the area through the abdomen and partially removing a spinal disc. |
64 | $526 | $6,253 |
| Spinal stabilization device placement, 3-6 segments Surgical placement of a device to stabilize three to six vertebrae in the back. |
60 | $565 | $6,789 |
| Fusion of spine in lower back | 57 | $1,117 | $5,950 |
| Anterior spinal fusion with partial disc removal, each additional disc This procedure involves fusing spine bones together through an incision in the front of the body, with partial removal of the disc, for each additional disc treated. |
49 | $238 | $2,371 |
| Spinal fusion with disc removal and nerve release, 1 disc This surgery connects two or more vertebrae in the upper spine to stabilize the area. It involves removing a damaged disc and relieving pressure on the spinal cord or nerve. |
33 | $1,268 | $9,000 |
| Spinal stabilization device placement, 2-3 segments Surgical placement of a device to stabilize the front of two to three spinal segments. |
28 | $538 | $6,088 |
| X-ray of middle spine, 2 views An X-ray imaging test that produces two views of the middle section of the spine to visualize the bones and joints. |
23 | $23 | $145 |
| 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. |
20 | $82 | $255 |
| Fusion of upper spine bone with removal of disc and release of spinal cord or nerve, each additional disc | 19 | $293 | $2,500 |
| Spinal fusion of neck, posterior approach A surgical procedure to join two or more vertebrae in the cervical spine using a back approach to stabilize the neck. |
19 | $588 | $6,004 |
| Placement of stabilizing device to back of 1 spine bone in neck A procedure involving the placement of a stabilizing device on the back of a single vertebra in the neck. |
13 | $482 | $6,415 |
| Spinal stabilization device placement, 7-12 segments Surgical placement of a device to stabilize the back involving 7 to 12 spine bone segments. |
12 | $604 | $7,121 |
| Insertion of instrumentation to pelvic bones A surgical procedure involving the placement of hardware or devices into the pelvic bones. |
11 | $267 | $1,922 |
| Partial removal of spine bone, more than 2 segments Surgical removal of part of the spine bone to explore or release the upper spinal cord or nerves across more than two spinal segments. |
11 | $1,003 | $6,439 |
Industry Payment Transparency
Open Payments through 2024 ↗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.
Payments by company (2024)
All-time payments by company (2018-2024) ›
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
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. Brown 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
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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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