Dr. Brian Bruel, M.D., M.B.A
What this data tells you about Dr. Bruel
Dr. Brian Bruel is an interventional pain medicine physician in Houston, TX, with 18 years in practice. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Bruel performed 3,426 Medicare services across 852 unique beneficiaries.
Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Bruel received a total of $233,685 from 74 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 1125 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in interventional pain medicine physician. The majority of payments are for consulting, which typically reflects recognized clinical expertise sought by manufacturers. Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.
The Data Coverage level for Dr. Bruel 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.
Medicare Practice Summary
Medicare Utilization ↗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) | 1,086 | $94 | $334 |
| Injection, midazolam hydrochloride, per 1 mg | 540 | $0 | $10 |
| Drug screening test | 483 | $60 | $343 |
| Contrast dye for imaging (iodine-based) | 301 | $0 | $10 |
| Office visit, established patient (20-29 min) | 187 | $65 | $236 |
| Injection, methylprednisolone acetate, 40 mg | 147 | $6 | $50 |
| Drug injection, under skin or into muscle | 127 | $10 | $37 |
| Injection, ketorolac tromethamine, per 15 mg | 108 | $0 | $50 |
| Ultrasonic guidance for needle placement | 77 | $43 | $153 |
| Electronic analysis reprogramming and refill of spinal canal drug infusion pump by physician | 57 | $68 | $247 |
| Contrast dye for imaging, lower concentration | 47 | $0 | $10 |
| Injection of anesthetic or steroid into joint between lower spine and hip bone using imaging guidance | 43 | $145 | $431 |
| Steroid injection (triamcinolone) | 43 | $1 | $12 |
| New patient office visit (45-59 min) | 39 | $125 | $434 |
| Injection of anesthetic and/or steroid drug into sacral spine nerve root using imaging guidance, single level | 33 | $230 | $661 |
| Electronic analysis of spinal canal drug infusion pump | 32 | $23 | $83 |
| Joint injection, major joint | 20 | $52 | $170 |
| Office visit, established patient, complex (40-54 min) | 20 | $137 | $469 |
| Fluoroscopic guidance for needle placement | 19 | $82 | $310 |
| Injection of anesthetic and/or steroid drug into sacral spine nerve root using imaging guidance, each additional level | 17 | $97 | $299 |
Industry Payment Transparency
Open Payments through 2024 ↗Payment profile
Industry payments classified by relationship type. Not all payments are equal — research and consulting reflect different relationships than speaking programs or meals.
Payment trend by year
Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
Payments by company (2024)
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
The majority of payments (46%) are consulting fees, which typically reflect recognized clinical expertise sought by manufacturers. Total industry engagement is in the top 1% for interventional pain medicine physician in TX.
Geographic Context
4.1 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. Bruel is a clinical cardiology specialist, with moderate Medicare volume, and high industry engagement (consulting-driven, top 1%), 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
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Does Dr. Bruel receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
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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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