Medicare Enrolled
Dr. Charlie Cheng, M.D.
Vascular Surgery Physician · Galveston, TX
Practice pattern: Clinical Cardiology
— Primarily office-based clinical cardiology
Speaking/Promotional
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. Cheng 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. Cheng
Dr. Charlie Cheng is a vascular surgery physician in Galveston, TX, with 17 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Cheng performed 951 Medicare services across 841 unique beneficiaries.
Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Cheng received a total of $98,829 from 71 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 423 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in vascular surgery physician. The majority of payments are for speaking programs and promotional activities, reflecting participation in industry-sponsored events. Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.
The Data Coverage level for Dr. Cheng 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.
✓ 17 years in practice
▲ Top 23% volume in TX
$98,829 industry payments
Medicare Practice Summary
Medicare Utilization ↗951
Medicare services
Top 23% in TX for vascular surgery physician
841
Unique beneficiaries
$102
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · Not a quality rating · How to read this →
~56 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.
| 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. |
184 | $62 | $212 |
| 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. |
134 | $92 | $314 |
| Hospital follow-up visit, high complexity Subsequent hospital inpatient or observation care for an existing patient involving high-level medical decision making, with at least 50 minutes total time on the date of the encounter. |
75 | $91 | $302 |
| Initial hospital admission, low complexity Initial hospital inpatient or observation care for a new patient involving straightforward or low-level medical decision making, with at least 40 minutes total time on the date of the encounter. |
68 | $62 | $296 |
| 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. |
60 | $74 | $317 |
| 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. |
48 | $112 | $483 |
| Initial hospital admission, moderate complexity Initial hospital inpatient or observation care for a new patient involving moderate-level medical decision making, with at least 55 minutes total time on the date of the encounter. |
45 | $100 | $401 |
| Ultrasound guidance for blood vessel access Use of ultrasound imaging to help locate and access a blood vessel. This guidance assists healthcare providers in performing procedures such as inserting IV lines or drawing blood. |
42 | $11 | $50 |
| Pre-operative ultrasound for hemodialysis access A complete ultrasound assessment of artery and vein blood flow performed before surgery to evaluate hemodialysis access. |
36 | $18 | $104 |
| Arm vein relocation with artery connection for hemodialysis A surgical procedure to move a vein in the arm and connect it to an artery to create access for hemodialysis. |
29 | $478 | $3,592 |
| Telephone medical discussion, 11-20 minutes A phone conversation with a physician lasting between 11 and 20 minutes. |
28 | $69 | $175 |
| Telephone medical discussion, 21-30 minutes A telephone conversation with a physician lasting between 21 and 30 minutes. This code covers the time spent discussing medical matters over the phone. |
26 | $87 | $255 |
| Radiologist review of abdominal aorta image A radiologist reviews images of the abdominal aorta to evaluate the blood vessel. |
22 | $51 | $210 |
| Radiologist review of arm or leg artery image A radiologist reviews images of the arteries in the arm or leg. This process involves analyzing the visual data to assess the blood vessels. |
19 | $63 | $212 |
| Revision of hemodialysis graft A procedure to repair or restore the function of a surgically created blood vessel connection used for hemodialysis. |
18 | $545 | $3,607 |
| Hemodialysis circuit intervention with balloon dilation A procedure to insert a needle or tube into a hemodialysis circuit and dilate the dialysis segment using a balloon, with radiological review. |
18 | $169 | $1,136 |
| Insertion of tunneled central venous catheter for infusion, age 5+ A surgical procedure to place a long-term catheter into a large vein for delivering medications or fluids. The catheter is tunneled under the skin to reduce infection risk and provide stable access for patients aged 5 and older. |
16 | $174 | $1,466 |
| Fluoroscopic guidance for central vein access device Use of live X-ray imaging to guide the placement or removal of a central vein access device. |
16 | $14 | $68 |
| Hospital follow-up visit, moderate complexity Follow-up hospital visit for an existing patient involving moderate medical decision making. The visit requires at least 35 minutes of time spent on the date of service. |
15 | $61 | $211 |
| Leg artery stent insertion A procedure to place a stent in the arteries of the leg to keep them open and improve blood flow. |
14 | $315 | $2,710 |
| Radiologist review of arm or leg artery images A radiologist reviews images of the arteries in one or both arms or legs to assess blood flow and vessel health. |
14 | $70 | $242 |
| Hemodialysis circuit intervention with stent placement A radiologist inserts a needle or tube into the hemodialysis circuit and places a stent in the dialysis segment while reviewing the procedure. |
13 | $219 | $1,554 |
| Same-day hospital admission and discharge, high complexity Initial hospital care for a patient admitted and discharged on the same day, involving a high level of medical decision making. This service requires at least 85 minutes of time spent on the day of the visit. |
11 | $153 | $639 |
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.
4.5% high complexity
15.0% medium
80.4% routine
Industry Payment Transparency
Open Payments through 2024 ↗$98,829
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $14,118/year across 7 years
Top 5% in TX for vascular surgery physician
71
Companies
423
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.
Speaking / Promotional
Speaker programs, honoraria, and industry-sponsored educational events
$58,000 (58.7%)
Consulting
Expert advisory fees, typically reflecting recognized clinical expertise
$26,987 (27.3%)
Meals & Travel
Food, beverages, travel, and lodging — typically low-value
$13,842 (14.0%)
Payment trend by year
Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
2024
$71,047
2023
$10,962
2022
$2,958
2021
$1,709
2020
$811
2019
$8,397
2018
$2,946
Payments by company (2024)
Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
Silk Road Medical, Inc.
$50,770
Organogenesis Inc.
$27,783
Boston Scientific Corporation
$8,938
Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc.
$1,629
W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
$1,175
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$1,075
Endologix LLC
$819
Endologix, Inc.
$510
Medtronic, Inc.
$472
Medtronic Vascular, Inc.
$453
BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION
$422
Inari Medical, Inc.
$415
Cook Medical LLC
$313
PFIZER INC.
$308
Smith+Nephew, Inc.
$296
Biom'Up France SAS
$198
Bolton Medical Inc
$197
Abbott Laboratories
$189
Baxter Healthcare
$180
Penumbra, Inc.
$158
Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.
$153
Bone Support Inc.
$153
AngioDynamics, Inc.
$145
Tactile Systems Technology Inc
$141
Philips Electronics North America Corporation
$121
Medinc of Texas
$119
Medical Device Business Services, Inc.
$113
Cardiovascular Systems Inc.
$107
Davol Inc.
$87
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
$77
Avinger Inc.
$75
BAXTER HEALTHCARE
$68
EKOS Corporation
$68
Grifols USA, LLC
$62
Olympus America Inc.
$56
ORGANOGENESIS INC.
$48
Contego Medical, Inc
$48
ACELL, INC.
$48
Kerecis Limited
$45
BIOTISSUE HOLDINGS INC.
$44
Becton, Dickinson and Company
$42
CryoLife, Inc.
$41
Biom'Up SA
$40
CARDIVA MEDICAL, INC.
$38
KCI USA, Inc
$37
ConvaTec Inc.
$36
Admedus Corporation
$33
Surmodics, Inc.
$31
BARD PERIPHERAL VASCULAR, INC.
$30
Alafair Biosciences, Inc.
$29
Stryker Corporation
$28
HemoSonics LLC
$28
ETS Wound Care LLC
$28
Acera Surgical, Inc.
$25
Integra LifeSciences Corporation
$24
Biocompatibles, Inc.
$23
LeMaitre Vascular, Inc.
$22
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$22
Smith & Nephew, Inc.
$21
Octapharma USA, Inc.
$20
Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation Inc.
$20
ATRICURE, INC.
$19
Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.
$16
Travere Therapeutics, Inc.
$16
HARTMANN USA, INC.
$16
Ethicon US, LLC
$16
Sanara MedTech Inc.
$14
Bioventus LLC
$13
Novo Nordisk Inc
$13
Inceptus Medical, LLC
$9
LifeNet Health
$5
Top 3 companies account for 88.5% of total payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
(5027) Intact Vascular Und · 120V · 2.0mm WC · 4.0mm OD · 60Hz · AFX · AFX2 Bifurcated Endograft System · ALPHAVAC · ANASTOCLIP · ANDEXXA · ANGIOJET · ANGIOVAC · APLIGRAF · AQUACEL AG+ EXTRA · ATRICURE ATRICLIP LAA EXCLUSION · AURYON LASER SYSTEM 100-120 VAC · AVITENE · Alto Abdominal Stent Graft System · Apligraf · CARDIVA VASCADE 6/7F VCS · CAROTID WALLSTENT · CERAMENTBONE VOID FILLER · CHANTIX · COLLAGENASE SANTYL · COOK MEDICAL ZILVER PTX · COYOTE · CROSSBOSS · CT THROMBECTOMY SYSTEM KIT · CellerateRx · Conformable TAG Thoracic Endoprosthesis · Cook Medical AAA · Cook Medical Stents · CoreValve Evolut · Diamondback Peripheral · EKOSONIC · ELIQUIS · ELLIPSYS VASCULAR ACCESS SYSTEM · ELUVIA · ENDURANT IIS · ENROUTE .014 Guidewire · ENROUTE Enflate Transcarotid RX Balloon Dilatation Catheter · ENROUTE Transcarotid Neuroprotection System · ENROUTE Transcarotid Stent · EXCLUDER AAA Endoprosthesis · EkoSonic · Ellipsys · Endurant · FIBRYGA · FLEXITOUCH · FLOSEAL · FLOWTRIEVER CATHETER · Flexitouch Plus · GENERAL ANGIOPLASTY · GENERAL ATHERECTOMY · GENERAL BALLOONS · GENERAL ATHERECTOMY · GENERAL VASCULAR INTERVENTION · GENERAL - ATHERECTOMY · GENERAL ATHERECTOMY · GENERAL ULTRASOUND · GENERAL VASCULAR INTERVENTION · GLIDEPATH · GORE VIABAHN VBX Balloon Expandable Endo · General - Vascular Intervention · HEMOBLAST BELLOWS · HEMOBLAST Bellows · HawkOne · HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Assist Device · HemoBlast Bellows · Hemoblast · INNOVAMATRIX AC · INTELLIS ADAPTIVESTIM · Indigo · Integra · JETSTREAM SC · KONECT RESILIA · Kerecis Omega3 SurgiClose · LOBO · LUTONIX · LifeStream · MIRRAGEN ADVANCED WOUND MATRIX · MUSTANG · NAVITOR · Ovation · PANTHERIS · PERCLOSE PROGLIDE · PICO · PICO Single Use Negative Pressure Wound Therapy · PREVELEAK · PROLENE · PURAPLY · PURAPLY WOUND MATRIX · Perclose ProGlide suture mediated closure system · Peripheral Orbital Atherectomy System · Peripheral RotaLink Plus · Progel · Progel Applicator Spray Tips · Puraply · Puraply Antimicrobial · QUANTRA QPLUS SYSTEM · ROSEN · ROTALINK · Ranger · Relay Plus · Restrata Wound Matrix · RotarexS 6 F x 135 cm · S · SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA · SNAP · SPY-PHI SYSTEM · SPiN Thoracic Navigation System · SPiN Vision Scope · STERLING · STRAVIX · STRAVIX MESH · STRAVIX PL · Santyl · SternaLock Blu · Sublime 014 Rx PTA Balloon Dilatation Catheter · Surgicel Powder · TIGRIS Stent · TREO ABDOMINAL STENT-GRAFT SYSTEM · TheraGenesis Wound Matrix · Thrombate III · Turbo-Power · VARITHENA · VIABAHN Endoprosthesis with Heparin Bioactive Surface · VIABAHN Endoprosthesis with PROPATEN Bioactive Surface · VIABAHN VBX Balloon Expandable Endoprosthesis · VenaSeal · Venovo · VersaWrap · XARELTO · ZILVER PTX · Zetuvit Plus
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 →
The majority of payments (59%) are for speaking programs and promotional activities, which reflect participation in industry-sponsored educational or marketing events. This is common in vascular surgery physician and does not inherently indicate bias, but patients may wish to be aware. Total industry engagement is in the top 5% for vascular surgery physician in TX.
Equivalent to $10,392 per 100 Medicare services performed
Geographic Context
Vascular surgery physicians within 10 mi
12
Per 100K population
3.4
County median income
$85,348
Nearest hospital
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDICAL BRANCH GALVESTON
0.0 mi
0.0 mi
Data Sources
| Provider Registry | ✓ NPPES | Weekly updates |
| Medicare Enrollment | ✓ PECOS | Monthly updates |
| Practice Data | ✓ Medicare Util. | Annual (CY lag) |
| Industry Payments | ✓ Open Payments | CY 2024 |
| Disciplinary History | — Not public | N/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. Cheng is a clinical cardiology specialist, with above-average Medicare volume (top 23% in TX), with speaking/promotional industry engagement in the top 5% of TX peers, with 17 years of NPI registration.
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. Cheng experienced with office visit, established patient (20-29 min)?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Cheng performed 184 office visit, established patient (20-29 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. Cheng receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Cheng received a total of $98,829 from 71 companies across 423 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. Cheng's costs compare to other vascular surgery physicians in Galveston?
Dr. Cheng's average Medicare payment per service is $102. 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. Cheng) 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 →
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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.
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