Medicare Enrolled

Dr. Robert Buchanan, MD

Neurological Surgery · Austin, TX
Practice pattern: Clinical Cardiology — Primarily office-based clinical cardiology
3705 MEDICAL PKWY STE 520, Austin, TX 78705
5122983637
Registered in NPPES since 2006
NPI: 1134236102 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. Buchanan 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. Buchanan

Dr. Robert Buchanan is a neurological surgery specialist in Austin, TX, with 20 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Buchanan performed 730 Medicare services in 2023. These records do not provide a deduplicated patient total.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Buchanan received a total of $4,882 from 21 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 113 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. Buchanan 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 16% volume in TX $4,882 industry payments

Medicare Practice Summary — 2023

Medicare Utilization ↗
730
Medicare services
Top 16% in TX for neurological surgery
Not available
Unique patients (not deduplicated)
$125
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 (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.
 352 $100 $135
Office visit, established patient, complex (40-54 min)
An office or outpatient visit for an existing patient lasting between 40 and 54 minutes. This level of service is determined by the total time spent on the date of the encounter.
 182 $135 $190
New patient office visit, complex (60-74 min) 150 $167 $230
Electronic analysis of implanted neurostimulator with complex programming
This procedure involves the electronic evaluation of an implanted neurostimulator generator. It includes complex programming of spinal cord or peripheral nerve stimulators.
 18 $32 $64
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.
 17 $72 $95
Brain neurostimulator pulse device insertion
Surgical placement of a brain neurostimulator pulse generator connected to a single electrode array.
 11 $424 $551
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 ↗
$4,882
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $697/year across 7 years
Top 43% in TX for neurological surgery
A higher payment rank reflects disclosed industry relationships (consulting, research, speaking) common among subspecialists — not wrongdoing.
21
Companies
113
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
$388
2023
$362
2022
$448
2021
$1,277
2020
$108
2019
$520
2018
$1,778

Payments by company (2024)

Abbott Laboratories
$158
Saluda Medical Americas, Inc.
$73
ABBVIE INC.
$40
Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.
$31
Lilly USA, LLC
$25
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
$22
Lundbeck LLC
$21
Biogen, Inc.
$18
Top 3 companies account for 69.8% of 2024 payments
All-time payments by company (2018-2024) ›
Abbott Laboratories
$2,019
Medtronic USA, Inc.
$1,262
Medtronic, Inc.
$461
NuVasive, Inc.
$346
Lundbeck LLC
$115
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$112
Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.
$80
ABBVIE INC.
$78
Saluda Medical Americas, Inc.
$73
BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION
$61
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
$48
Lilly USA, LLC
$44
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc.
$37
Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.
$32
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc
$20
Boston Scientific Corporation
$19
Biogen, Inc.
$18
Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.
$16
NeuroPace, Inc.
$15
IDORSIA PHARMACEUTICALS US INC
$15
Brainlab, Inc.
$10
Top 3 companies account for 76.6% of all-time payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
ACTIVA · ADUHELM · AMYVID · AUSTEDO · Evoke · INFINITY · INGREZZA · INTELLIS · INTELLIS ADAPTIVESTIM · Image Guided Surgical Device · Infinity DBS Pulse Generators · NUPLAZID · NVM5 · Neuromodulation Dspsbls and Accs · OCTRODE · Octrode SCS Leads · PROCLAIM · Proclaim Family of SCS IPGs · Proclaim IPG · QUVIVIQ · REXULTI · RNS System · SCS IPGs · SCS leads · SPECTRA WAVEWRITER · SPRAVATO · StealthStation · TRINTELLIX · VANTA ADAPTIVESTIM · VERCISE · VRAYLAR
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 neurological surgery specialist in Austin?
Compare neurological surgerists in the Austin area by procedure volume, costs, and industry payment transparency.
Browse neurological surgerists nearby

Geographic Context

Neurological surgerists in nearby ZIP areas
43
County median income
$97,169
Nearest hospital to ZIP centroid (approximate)
ASCENSION SETON MEDICAL CENTER AUSTIN
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. Buchanan is a clinical cardiology specialist, with above-average Medicare volume (top 16% in TX), 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. Buchanan experienced with office visit, established patient (30-39 min)?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Buchanan performed 352 office visit, established patient (30-39 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. Buchanan receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Buchanan received a total of $4,882 from 21 companies across 113 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. Buchanan's costs compare to other neurological surgerists in Austin?
Dr. Buchanan's average Medicare payment per service is $125. 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. Buchanan) 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 →