Medicare Enrolled

Dr. Amber Nichols, OD

Q: Does Dr. Nichols receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?

Yes. Dr. Nichols received a total of $7,929 from 13 companies across 48 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.

Q: What does Data Coverage mean?

Data Coverage (currently Moderate for Dr. Nichols) 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.

Optometrist · Houston, TX

4401 MARTIN LUTHER KING BLVD, Houston, TX 77204

7137432020

Registered in NPPES since 2021

NPI: 1477122422 verify on NPPES ↗

Moderate

DATA COVERAGE

Data in 3 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. Nichols 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. Nichols? Request a correction or review of any data shown here. Provider portal →

What this data tells you about Dr. Nichols

Dr. Amber Nichols is an optometrist in Houston, TX, with 5 years of NPI registration.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Nichols received a total of $7,929 from 13 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 48 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. Nichols is Moderate — 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.

✓ 5 years of NPI registration $7,929 industry payments

Industry Payment Transparency

Open Payments through 2024 ↗

$7,929

Total received (2021-2024)

Avg $1,982/year across 4 years

Top 4% in TX for optometrist

A higher payment rank reflects disclosed industry relationships (consulting, research, speaking) common among subspecialists — not wrongdoing.

Companies

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

$1,437

2023

$1,250

2022

$3,460

2021

$1,783

Payments by company (2024)

Alcon Vision LLC

$1,229

Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.

$75

CooperVision Inc.

$75

Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.

$44

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

$14

Top 3 companies account for 96.0% of 2024 payments

All-time payments by company (2021-2024) ›

Valley Contax, Inc.

$4,459

Alcon Vision LLC

$1,463

Glaukos Corporation

$597

CooperVision Inc.

$400

Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.

$309

Bausch & Lomb Americas Inc.

$297

Lumenis BE inc

$150

Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

$122

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation

$47

BioTissue Holdings, Inc.

$24

BIOTISSUE HOLDINGS, INC.

$23

Oyster Point Pharma, Inc.

$22

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

$14

Top 3 companies account for 82.2% of all-time payments

Associated products mentioned in payments ›

AIR OPTIX · ALDEN SCLERAL ZENLENS · Acuvue · Clariti Contact Lens · DAILIES TOTAL1 · INFUSE · KXL System · KXL system (not refurbished) · Optilight · PROKERA · Paragon CRT · Syfovre · TYRVAYA · XIIDRA · rhopressa

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 an optometrist in Houston?
Compare optometrists in the Houston area by procedure volume, costs, and industry payment transparency.

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Geographic Context

Optometrists in nearby ZIP areas

1,170

County median income

$73,104

Nearest hospital to ZIP centroid (approximate)

HCA HOUSTON HEALTHCARE MEDICAL CENTER
1.3 mi

Data Sources

Provider Registry	✓ NPPES	NPPES snapshot; verify current record
Medicare Enrollment	✓ PECOS	PECOS snapshot
Practice Data	— No data	N/A
Industry Payments	✓ Open Payments	CY 2024
Disciplinary History	— Not included	N/A

This provider has data in 3 of 4 available federal datasets, with a Data Coverage level of Moderate. This reflects how much public data is available about a provider. How we calculate this →

Summary

Dr. Nichols is an optometrist.

This summary is auto-generated from federal data, describing data availability and patterns. Read our methodology →

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Dr. Nichols receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?

Yes. Dr. Nichols received a total of $7,929 from 13 companies across 48 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.

What does Data Coverage mean?

Data Coverage (currently Moderate for Dr. Nichols) 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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By company

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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 ↗, 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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