Medicare Enrolled

Dr. Joshua Defriece, M.D.

Family Medicine · Cypress, TX
Practice pattern: Clinical Cardiology— Primarily office-based clinical cardiology
Low-engagement
25282 NORTHWEST FWY, Cypress, TX 77429
2817372165
In practice since 2007 (18 years)
NPI: 1649476482 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. Defriece 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 →
Are you Dr. Defriece? Request a correction or review of any data shown here. Provider portal →

What this data tells you about Dr. Defriece

Dr. Joshua Defriece is a family medicine in Cypress, TX, with 18 years in practice. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Defriece performed 701 Medicare services across 555 unique beneficiaries.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Defriece received a total of $7,950 from 51 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 513 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in family medicine. Most payments are for meals and travel — low-value interactions common across virtually all practicing physicians. Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.

The Data Coverage level for Dr. Defriece is Very High — reflecting how much public federal data is available about this provider. This is not a quality rating. Patients are encouraged to use this data as one of several factors when choosing a healthcare provider.

✓ 18 years in practice▲ Top 39% volume in TX$ $7,950 industry payments

Medicare Practice Summary

Medicare Utilization ↗
701
Medicare services
Top 39% in TX for family medicine
555
Unique beneficiaries
$76
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · Not a quality rating · How to read this →
~39 Medicare services per year of practice

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.

ProcedureVolumeAvg. paidAvg. submitted
Office visit, established patient (30-39 min)249$73$236
Annual wellness visit, follow-up135$129$242
Hemoglobin A1c test (diabetes monitoring)78$10$30
Office visit, established patient (20-29 min)53$55$159
Office visit, established patient, complex (40-54 min)42$135$316
Flu vaccine, high-dose35$71$77
Flu vaccine administration35$31$69
Online digital evaluation and management service for an established patient for up to 7 days, total time 5-10 minutes20$8$30
Joint injection, major joint19$43$160
Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, 20 valent (pcv20), for intramuscular use12$259$594
Pneumonia vaccine administration12$29$55
Annual depression screening11$19$41
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. A higher procedure volume generally indicates more experience with that procedure.

Industry Payment Transparency

Open Payments through 2024 ↗
$7,950
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $1,136/year across 7 years
Top 7% in TX for family medicine
51
Companies
513
Individual payments
All payments are legal and publicly reported · Not evidence of wrongdoing · How to interpret →

Payment profile

Industry payments classified by relationship type. Not all payments are equal — research and consulting reflect different relationships than speaking programs or meals.

Meals & Travel
Food, beverages, travel, and lodging — typically low-value
$7,950 (100.0%)

Payment trend by year

Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

2024
$1,390
2023
$1,199
2022
$1,071
2021
$909
2020
$886
2019
$1,279
2018
$1,216

Payments by company (2024)

Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
Novo Nordisk Inc
$2,180
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
$821
Abbott Laboratories
$743
Lilly USA, LLC
$553
PFIZER INC.
$517
GlaxoSmithKline, LLC.
$266
AbbVie Inc.
$244
Amgen Inc.
$221
Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.
$189
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$182
ABBVIE INC.
$158
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corporation
$141
Astellas Pharma US Inc
$133
Exact Sciences Corporation
$95
Dexcom, Inc.
$95
Allergan, Inc.
$86
Esperion Therapeutics, Inc.
$86
Amarin Pharma Inc.
$80
Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd.
$72
IDORSIA PHARMACEUTICALS US INC
$65
Tolmar, Inc.
$63
Dynavax Technologies Corporation
$62
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
$61
SANOFI-AVENTIS U.S. LLC
$60
ARBOR PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
$59
Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.
$48
Currax Pharmaceuticals LLC
$47
Corcept Therapeutics
$46
VIVUS LLC
$45
Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$45
Shire North American Group Inc
$44
VIVUS, Inc.
$43
Inspire Medical Systems, Inc.
$39
Nevro Corp.
$33
Allergan Inc.
$27
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
$27
Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc.
$27
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$23
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
$22
AbbVie, Inc.
$21
Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$20
Azurity Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$20
Myocardial Solutions, Inc.
$18
SANOFI PASTEUR INC.
$17
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$16
Bausch Health US, LLC
$16
SI-BONE, Inc.
$15
Salix Pharmaceuticals, a division of Bausch Health US, LLC
$15
Eli Lilly and Company
$14
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$13
Antares Pharma, Inc.
$13
Top 3 companies account for 47.1% of total payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
ADVAIR · AIRSUPRA · AJOVY · APLENZIN · AREXVY · Aimovig · BEXSERO · BREO · BREZTRI · BYDUREON · CHANTIX · COLOGUARD · COLOGUARD DNA CAPTURE REAGENTS · CONTRAVE · Cologuard Collection Kit · Dexcom G6 Transmitter · ELIQUIS · EMGALITY · Edarbi · Edarbyclor · FARXIGA · FASENRA · FLUZONE HIGH-DOSE · FREESTYLE LIBRE · FREESTYLE LIBRE 2 · FREESTYLE LIBRE 3 · GARDASIL · GARDASIL 9 · GLYXAMBI · HORIZANT · HUMALOG · Heplisav-B · Horizant · INSPIRE · JANUVIA · JARDIANCE · JATENZO · Kanuma · Kerendia · Korlym · Kyleena · LEQVIO · LOKELMA · LYRICA · Livalo · MOUNJARO · MYRBETRIQ · NEXLETOL · NURTEC ODT · ONZETRA XSAIL · Otezla · Ozempic · PAXLOVID · PNEUMOVAX 23 · PRALUENT · PRALUENT ALIROCUMAB INJECTION · PREVNAR - 13 · PREVNAR 20 · Prolia · QSYMIA · QULIPTA · QUVIVIQ · Qsymia · REXULTI · RYBELSUS · Repatha · Rybelsus · SHINGRIX · SOLIQUA 100/33 · STEGLATRO · SYMBICORT · Saxenda · Senza · Synthroid · TOUJEO · TRADJENTA · TRINTELLIX · TRULICITY · Tresiba · UBRELVY · VIBERZI · VRAYLAR · VYVANSE · Vascepa · Veozah · Victoza · Wegovy · XARELTO · XIFAXAN · XYOSTED · ZEPBOUND · iFuse Implant
Should you be concerned? Payments from pharmaceutical and device companies are legal and common — 57% of U.S. physicians receive at least one. They often reflect legitimate consulting, research, or education. 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 →

Most payments (100%) are for meals and travel — low-value interactions that are common across virtually all practicing physicians. Total industry engagement is in the top 7% for family medicine in TX.

Equivalent to $1,134 per 100 Medicare services performed
Looking for a family medicine in Cypress?
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Geographic Context

Family Medicines within 10 mi
1,266
Per 100K population
26.6
County median income
$73,104
Nearest hospital
LONE STAR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CYPRESS
0.0 mi

Data Sources

Provider Registry NPPESWeekly updates
Medicare Enrollment PECOSMonthly updates
Practice Data Medicare Util.Annual (CY lag)
Industry Payments Open PaymentsCY 2024
Disciplinary History— Not publicN/A

This provider has data in 4 of 4 available federal datasets, with a Data Coverage level of Very High. This measures how much public data is available about a provider — not how good they are. How we calculate this →

Summary

Dr. Defriece is a clinical cardiology specialist, with moderate Medicare volume, and high industry engagement (low-engagement, top 7%), with 18 years of practice experience.

This summary is auto-generated from federal data. It describes data availability and patterns — not clinical quality. Read our methodology →

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Dr. Defriece experienced with office visit, established patient (30-39 min)?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Defriece performed 249 office visit, established patient (30-39 min) services. Research suggests that higher procedure volume is often associated with better outcomes, particularly for complex procedures. Note that Medicare data only captures patients aged 65 and older, so the total practice volume across all patients is likely higher.
Does Dr. Defriece receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Defriece received a total of $7,950 from 51 companies across 513 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common among physicians — 57% of all U.S. physicians receive at least one industry payment. 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. Defriece's costs compare to other family medicines in Cypress?
Dr. Defriece's average Medicare payment per service is $76. 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. Defriece) 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 a long track record of practice, Medicare participation, and industry disclosure. 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?
Each data source has its own update cycle. Provider registry data (NPPES) is updated weekly. Medicare enrollment (PECOS) is updated monthly. Medicare practice data has a ~2 year lag — the most recent available is typically 2 years prior. Industry payment data (Open Payments) is published annually, usually in June, covering the prior calendar year. We display the data date prominently on each section so you always know how current it is. See our data freshness policy →
About this page

All data on this page is sourced verbatim from public federal records published by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): 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. The Transparency Score measures 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. Payments from industry are legal and do not indicate wrongdoing. 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 →