Medicare Enrolled
Dr. Joseph Thomas, MD
Pain Medicine · Erie, PA
Practice pattern: Mixed Practice
— Diverse clinical practice across multiple procedure types
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. Thomas 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. Thomas
Dr. Joseph Thomas is a pain medicine specialist in Erie, PA, with 20 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Thomas performed 21,959 Medicare services in 2023. These records do not provide a deduplicated patient total.
Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Thomas received a total of $5,938 from 52 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 345 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. Thomas 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
▲ Top 7% volume in PA
$5,938 industry payments
Medicare Practice Summary — 2023
Medicare Utilization ↗21,959
Medicare services
Top 7% in PA for pain medicine
Not available
Unique patients (not deduplicated)
$8
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contrast dye for imaging, lower concentration | 15,303 | $0 | $8 |
| Steroid injection (triamcinolone) A 10 mg injection of triamcinolone acetonide, a corticosteroid medication. This code specifies the drug and dosage administered. |
2,943 | $1 | $25 |
| Dexamethasone injection (steroid) An injection of dexamethasone sodium phosphate, a corticosteroid medication, administered in a dose of 1 milligram. |
2,136 | $0 | $8 |
| 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. |
326 | $60 | $160 |
| Sacral spine nerve root injection with imaging guidance An injection of anesthetic and/or steroid medication into a sacral spine nerve root. The procedure uses imaging guidance to ensure accurate placement. |
232 | $193 | $673 |
| 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. |
198 | $82 | $190 |
| Injection into lower spine canal with imaging guidance A procedure where a substance is injected into the lower part of the spinal canal. The injection is performed using imaging guidance to ensure accurate placement. |
138 | $179 | $775 |
| Joint injection, major joint Removal of fluid from a large joint and/or injection of medication into the joint space. |
80 | $51 | $248 |
| Midazolam injection, per 1 mg Administration of midazolam hydrochloride, a sedative medication, measured in 1 mg increments. |
76 | $0 | $25 |
| Fluoroscopic guidance for needle placement Use of real-time X-ray imaging to guide the precise placement of a needle during a medical procedure. |
73 | $83 | $225 |
| Ketorolac injection, per 15 mg An injection of ketorolac tromethamine, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, administered in doses measured per 15 mg. |
72 | $0 | $25 |
| Spinal injection with imaging guidance A procedure where medication is injected into the middle or upper part of the spinal canal. Imaging technology is used to guide the needle to the correct location. |
53 | $191 | $825 |
| 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. |
50 | $120 | $270 |
| Additional sacral spine nerve root injection with imaging An injection of anesthetic and/or steroid medication into an additional sacral spine nerve root level, guided by imaging. |
46 | $84 | $300 |
| Facet joint nerve destruction, single joint A procedure to destroy nerves in a single lower or sacral spinal facet joint using imaging guidance to target pain signals. |
36 | $292 | $800 |
| Facet joint nerve destruction, additional joint This procedure uses imaging guidance to destroy nerves in an additional lower or sacral spinal facet joint. |
36 | $182 | $425 |
| Drug injection, under skin or into muscle A procedure involving the administration of a medication or substance via injection into the subcutaneous tissue or muscle. |
36 | $9 | $50 |
| 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. |
28 | $82 | $242 |
| Spine facet joint injection with imaging guidance, single level An injection is administered into a single facet joint of the lower or sacral spine while using imaging guidance to ensure accurate placement. |
26 | $146 | $585 |
| Facet joint injection, second level, with imaging guidance An injection into a lower or sacral spine facet joint using imaging guidance for the second level treated. |
26 | $80 | $548 |
| Injection of anesthetic or steroid into sacroiliac joint with imaging guidance This procedure involves injecting an anesthetic or steroid medication into the joint connecting the lower spine and hip bone. Imaging guidance is used to ensure accurate placement of the injection. |
21 | $112 | $743 |
| Trigger point injection, 3 or more muscles Injection of medication into three or more specific muscle trigger points to relieve pain. |
13 | $23 | $220 |
| 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. |
11 | $26 | $90 |
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.
Industry Payment Transparency
Open Payments through 2024 ↗$5,938
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $848/year across 7 years
Top 16% in PA for pain medicine
A higher payment rank reflects disclosed industry relationships (consulting, research, speaking) common among subspecialists — not wrongdoing.
52
Companies
345
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
$526
2023
$484
2022
$679
2021
$1,069
2020
$976
2019
$820
2018
$1,383
Payments by company (2024)
Salix Pharmaceuticals, a division of Bausch Health US, LLC
$171
Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.
$94
Boston Scientific Corporation
$92
Valinor Pharma, LLC
$77
PFIZER INC.
$65
VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INCORPORATED
$14
SI-BONE, INC.
$14
Top 3 companies account for 67.8% of 2024 payments
All-time payments by company (2018-2024) ›
Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.
$611
Salix Pharmaceuticals, a division of Bausch Health US, LLC
$591
GE Healthcare
$459
Boston Scientific Corporation
$442
Abbott Laboratories
$364
Daiichi Sankyo Inc.
$354
PFIZER INC.
$290
Nevro Corp.
$282
BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION
$245
Stimwave Technologies Incorporated
$200
Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc.
$147
Lilly USA, LLC
$139
Valinor Pharma, LLC
$135
Sentynl Therapeutics, Inc.
$133
Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.
$129
TerSera Therapeutics LLC
$115
AbbVie Inc.
$111
SCILEX PHARMACEUTICALS INC.
$74
ABBVIE INC.
$73
RedHill Biopharma Inc.
$72
Horizon Therapeutics plc
$69
BIODELIVERY SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL, INC.
$62
Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$62
Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd.
$60
Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$60
BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc.
$55
Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$55
Zyla Life Sciences
$43
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
$43
Almatica Pharma LLC
$40
Bioventus LLC
$33
US WorldMeds, LLC
$32
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
$31
USWM, LLC
$31
Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$28
Mallinckrodt LLC
$23
GRT US Holding, Inc.
$22
Radius Health, Inc.
$21
Flexion Therapeutics, Inc.
$19
Lundbeck LLC
$19
Axonics, Inc.
$18
Vertical Pharmaceuticals, LLC
$17
Allergan Inc.
$16
Amgen Inc.
$15
VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INCORPORATED
$14
SI-BONE, INC.
$14
Masimo Corporation
$13
Shionogi Inc
$13
Kaleo, Inc.
$11
Medtronic Vascular, Inc.
$11
Horizon Pharma plc
$11
Purdue Pharma L.P.
$10
Top 3 companies account for 28.0% of all-time payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
ACTHAR · AIMOVIG · AJOVY · Aimovig · Axium Sheath Braided DRG · Axonics r-SNM System · BELBUCA · BOTOX · Belbuca · DUEXIS · ELIQUIS · EMGALITY · Evzio · GELSYN-3 · GENERAL PAIN MANAGEMENT · GENERAL - PAIN MANAGEMENT · GENERAL PAIN MANAGEMENT · GRALISE · General - Pain Management · LORZONE · LYRICA · Levorphanol · Levorphanol Tartrate · Livalo · Lucemyra · MOVANTIK · Morphabond ER · Movantik · NA · NURTEC ODT · Nucynta · Octrode SCS Leads · Omnia · PAXLOVID · PENNSAID · PRIALT · Penta SCS Leads · Prialt · Proclaim DRG IPG · Proclaim Family of SCS IPGs · QULIPTA · Qutenza · RAYOS · RELISTOR · SCS leads · SEGLENTIS · SPECTRA WAVEWRITER · SPRIX · SYMPROIC · Seglentis · Senza Spinal Cord Stimulation System · StimQ Peripheral Nerve StimulatorSystem · Symproic · TROKENDI XR · Tymlos · UBRELVY · VYEPTI · VenaSeal · WaveWriter Alpha Prime 16 · XTAMPZA · ZTLido · ZTLido 30 POUCH in 1 CARTON 1 PATCH in 1 POUCH · Zilretta
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 →
Geographic Context
Pain medicines in nearby ZIP areas
2
County median income
$61,476
Nearest hospital to ZIP centroid (approximate)
LECOM MEDICAL CENTER AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PAV
0.0 mi
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. Thomas is a mixed practice specialist, with above-average Medicare volume (top 7% in PA), 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. Thomas experienced with contrast dye for imaging, lower concentration?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Thomas performed 15,303 contrast dye for imaging, lower concentration 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. Thomas receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Thomas received a total of $5,938 from 52 companies across 345 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. Thomas's costs compare to other pain medicines in Erie?
Dr. Thomas's average Medicare payment per service is $8. 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. Thomas) 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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See all physicians who received payments from Salix Pharmaceuticals, a division of Bausch Health US, LLC.
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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.
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