Medicare Enrolled
Dr. Christopher Easterling, MD
Family Medicine · Graham, TX
Practice pattern: Clinical Cardiology— Primarily office-based clinical cardiology
Low-engagement
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. Easterling 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. Easterling
Dr. Christopher Easterling is a family medicine in Graham, TX, with 11 years in practice. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Easterling performed 21,736 Medicare services across 7,673 unique beneficiaries.
Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Easterling received a total of $3,766 from 36 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 235 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in family medicine. Most payments are for meals and travel — low-value interactions common across virtually all practicing physicians. Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.
The Data Coverage level for Dr. Easterling is Very High — reflecting how much public federal data is available about this provider. This is not a quality rating. Patients are encouraged to use this data as one of several factors when choosing a healthcare provider.
✓ 11 years in practice▲ Top 0% volume in TX$ $3,766 industry payments
Medicare Practice Summary
Medicare Utilization ↗21,736
Medicare services
Top 0% in TX for family medicine
7,673
Unique beneficiaries
$29
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · Not a quality rating · How to read this →
~1,976 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denosumab injection (Prolia/Xgeva) | 5,340 | $18 | $30 |
| Allergy immunotherapy preparation | 3,600 | $11 | $125 |
| Office visit, established patient (30-39 min) | 1,383 | $86 | $250 |
| Chronic care management, first 20 min/month | 809 | $47 | $122 |
| Blood draw (venipuncture) | 740 | $8 | $20 |
| Complete blood count (CBC) with differential | 582 | $8 | $40 |
| Basic metabolic blood panel | 513 | $8 | $60 |
| Office visit, established patient (20-29 min) | 474 | $57 | $170 |
| Lipid panel (cholesterol and triglycerides) | 470 | $13 | $102 |
| Liver function blood test panel | 451 | $8 | $85 |
| Remote patient monitoring management, 20 min/month | 438 | $37 | $149 |
| Advance care planning consultation, first 30 min | 410 | $77 | $253 |
| Annual alcohol misuse screening, 5 to 15 minutes | 396 | $18 | $53 |
| Infectious disease DNA/RNA test | 372 | $34 | $100 |
| Annual depression screening | 369 | $18 | $75 |
| Annual wellness visit, follow-up | 365 | $124 | $275 |
| Hemoglobin A1c test (diabetes monitoring) | 332 | $9 | $60 |
| Drug injection, under skin or into muscle | 325 | $9 | $55 |
| Allergy injection therapy, multiple injections | 245 | $8 | $45 |
| Ceftriaxone antibiotic injection | 226 | $0 | $5 |
| Bone density scan (DEXA) | 222 | $36 | $335 |
| Physician or allowed practitioner supervision of a patient receiving medicare-covered services provided by a participating home health agency (patient not present) requiring complex and multidisciplinary care modalities involving regular physician or allow | 216 | $79 | $125 |
| Remote patient monitoring device, 30 days | 195 | $37 | $177 |
| Detection test by nucleic acid for chlamydia pneumoniae, amplified probe technique | 186 | $34 | $100 |
| Detection test by nucleic acid for mycoplasma pneumoniae (bacteria), amplified probe technique | 186 | $34 | $100 |
| Detection test by nucleic acid for multiple types of respiratory virus, multiple types or subtypes, 3-5 targets | 186 | $139 | $1,100 |
| 2019-ncov coronavirus, sars-cov-2/2019-ncov (covid-19), any technique, multiple types or subtypes (includes all targets), non-cdc | 186 | $50 | $100 |
| Injection, penicillin g benzathine, 100,000 units | 180 | $13 | $25 |
| Urinalysis with microscopic exam | 161 | $3 | $35 |
| Electrocardiogram (EKG), 12-lead | 153 | $10 | $75 |
| Betamethasone steroid injection | 151 | $4 | $25 |
| Management using the results of remote vital sign monitoring per calendar month, each additional 20 minutes | 146 | $30 | $122 |
| Detection test by immunoassay with direct visual observation for streptococcus, group a (strep) | 137 | $16 | $45 |
| Chest X-ray, 2 views | 114 | $23 | $95 |
| Chronic care management, additional 20 min/month | 103 | $35 | $94 |
| Office visit, established patient, complex (40-54 min) | 70 | $124 | $335 |
| Injection, ketorolac tromethamine, per 15 mg | 70 | $0 | $25 |
| Ultrasound study of arm and leg arteries | 69 | $49 | $246 |
| Destruction of precancerous skin growths, 2-14 | 68 | $4 | $35 |
| Transitional care management services for problem of high complexity | 66 | $207 | $520 |
| Comprehensive metabolic blood panel | 65 | $10 | $70 |
| Urine microalbumin (protein) analysis | 65 | $6 | $45 |
| Creatinine test (kidney function) | 65 | $5 | $60 |
| Red blood cell sedimentation rate, to detect inflammation, non-automated | 64 | $4 | $40 |
| Ultrasound of heart, follow-up | 63 | $53 | $800 |
| Ultrasound of aorta, vena cava, groin vessels or bypass grafts | 63 | $78 | $351 |
| Test to measure expiratory airflow and volume | 61 | $20 | $103 |
| Testing for presence of drug, read by direct observation | 53 | $12 | $100 |
| Smoking and tobacco use intensive counseling, 4-10 minutes | 52 | $14 | $45 |
| Steroid injection (triamcinolone) | 46 | $1 | $10 |
| Destruction of precancerous skin growth, 1 | 45 | $42 | $192 |
| Natriuretic peptide (heart and blood vessel protein) level | 42 | $38 | $200 |
| Removal of impacted ear wax | 35 | $33 | $140 |
| X-ray of abdomen, 2 views | 32 | $23 | $104 |
| Joint injection, major joint | 27 | $46 | $180 |
| Echocardiogram, transthoracic | 26 | $146 | $608 |
| Office visit, established patient (10-19 min) | 26 | $31 | $100 |
| Shoulder X-ray, 2+ views | 24 | $22 | $96 |
| X-ray of knee, 4 or more views | 22 | $36 | $127 |
| Ultrasound of one side of head and neck blood flow | 20 | $94 | $373 |
| Foot X-ray, 3+ views | 18 | $22 | $95 |
| Urinalysis, manual | 17 | $3 | $20 |
| Initial preventive physical examination; face-to-face visit, services limited to new beneficiary during the first 12 months of medicare enrollment | 17 | $158 | $489 |
| Hip X-ray, 2-3 views | 16 | $36 | $131 |
| Electrocardiogram, routine ecg with 12 leads; performed as a screening for the initial preventive physical examination with interpretation and report | 16 | $9 | $50 |
| Nuclear medicine studies of heart muscle at rest and with stress and spect | 13 | $332 | $1,382 |
| Exercise or drug-induced heart stress test with electrocardiogram (ecg) with supervision and review by physician | 13 | $47 | $350 |
| Technetium tc-99m sestamibi, diagnostic, per study dose | 13 | $125 | $535 |
| Annual wellness visit; includes a personalized prevention plan of service (pps), initial visit | 12 | $158 | $400 |
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.
0.4% high complexity
31.2% medium
68.4% routine
Industry Payment Transparency
Open Payments through 2024 ↗$3,766
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $538/year across 7 years
Top 17% in TX for family medicine
36
Companies
235
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
$3,766 (100.0%)
Payment trend by year
Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
2024$1,108
2023$844
2022$534
2021$124
2020$232
2019$636
2018$289
Payments by company (2024)
Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
$470
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
$384
Lilly USA, LLC
$355
Novo Nordisk Inc
$352
GlaxoSmithKline, LLC.
$303
Amgen Inc.
$262
PFIZER INC.
$252
Astellas Pharma US Inc
$227
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$159
ABBVIE INC.
$116
AbbVie Inc.
$94
Exact Sciences Corporation
$85
Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.
$59
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$56
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$51
Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd.
$51
Mylan Specialty L.P.
$47
Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$47
IDORSIA PHARMACEUTICALS US INC
$46
Allergan, Inc.
$35
E.R. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.
$31
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corporation
$29
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
$28
Allergan Inc.
$24
Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$24
Genentech USA, Inc.
$21
Corium, LLC
$20
SANOFI-AVENTIS U.S. LLC
$18
Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$17
Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$17
Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc.
$17
Celgene Corporation
$15
Salix Pharmaceuticals, a division of Bausch Health US, LLC
$15
Abbott Laboratories
$14
Flexion Therapeutics, Inc.
$11
Amarin Pharma Inc.
$11
Top 3 companies account for 32.1% of total payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
AIRSUPRA · ANORO · ANORO ELLIPTA · AREXVY · AZSTARYS · Aimovig · BELSOMRA · BEVESPI AEROSPHERE · BREZTRI · COMIRNATY · Cologuard Collection Kit · ELIQUIS · ENTRESTO · EVENITY · EVUSHELD · FARXIGA · FLUMIST QUADRIVALENT · FREESTYLE LIBRE · GEMTESA · INVOKANA · JARDIANCE · Kerendia · LEQVIO · LINZESS · MOUNJARO · Myrbetriq · NUEDEXTA · NURTEC ODT · NUZYRA · Otezla · Ozempic · PREMARIN · PREVNAR 13 · PREVNAR 20 · Prolia · QULIPTA · QUVIVIQ · RECORLEV · REXULTI · Rybelsus · SHINGRIX · TOUJEO · TRELEGY ELLIPTA · TRINTELLIX · TRULICITY · TRUMENBA · Tresiba · UBRELVY · VRAYLAR · Vascepa · Veozah · Vesicare · Victoza · XARELTO · XIFAXAN · Xofluza · YUPELRI · Yupelri · Zilretta
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.
Equivalent to $17 per 100 Medicare services performed
Geographic Context
Family Medicines within 10 mi
17
Per 100K population
94.6
County median income
$63,723
Nearest hospital
GRAHAM REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
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. Easterling is a clinical cardiology specialist, with above-average Medicare volume (top 0% in TX), and high industry engagement (low-engagement, top 17%).
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. Easterling experienced with denosumab injection (prolia/xgeva)?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Easterling performed 5,340 denosumab injection (prolia/xgeva) 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. Easterling receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Easterling received a total of $3,766 from 36 companies across 235 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. Easterling's costs compare to other family medicines in Graham?
Dr. Easterling's average Medicare payment per service is $29. 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. Easterling) 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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