Dr. Carol Lai, M.D.
What this data tells you about Dr. Lai
Dr. Carol Lai is a student in an organized health care education/training program specialist in Houston, TX, with 12 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Lai performed 1,902 Medicare services across 1,416 unique beneficiaries.
Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Lai received a total of $5,734 from 18 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 151 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in student in an organized health care education/training program. 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. Lai 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) | 683 | $71 | $177 |
| EKG interpretation and report | 399 | $6 | $26 |
| Echocardiogram, transthoracic | 313 | $52 | $226 |
| Exercise or drug-induced heart stress test with electrocardiogram (ecg) with supervision by physician | 89 | $15 | $70 |
| Exercise or drug-induced heart stress test with electrocardiogram (ecg) with review by physician | 89 | $10 | $47 |
| New patient office visit (45-59 min) | 80 | $99 | $257 |
| Hospital follow-up visit, moderate complexity | 49 | $62 | $190 |
| Ultrasound of heart, follow-up | 29 | $19 | $79 |
| Ultrasound of heart with probe in esophagus, with report | 29 | $84 | $353 |
| Ultrasound of heart with color-depicted blood flow, rate and valve function | 29 | $2 | $10 |
| Ultrasound of heart blood flow, valves and chambers | 28 | $14 | $59 |
| 3d ultrasound imaging of heart for evaluation of heart structure performed during ultrasound imaging of congenital heart defects | 21 | $19 | $203 |
| Use of a drug to induce depression of consciousness by physician performing a procedure (5 years or older), initial 15 minutes | 21 | $10 | $99 |
| Office visit, established patient, complex (40-54 min) | 15 | $98 | $253 |
| Initial hospital admission, moderate complexity | 15 | $107 | $340 |
| Ultrasound of heart with continuous electrocardiogram (ecg) during rest, exercise and/or drug induced stress with review and report | 13 | $47 | $246 |
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 ›
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 student in an organized health care education/training program in TX.
Geographic Context
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. Lai is a cardiac & cardiac specialist, with above-average Medicare volume (top 10% in TX), with low-engagement industry engagement in the top 7% of TX peers.
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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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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