Medicare Enrolled
Dr. David Yao, M.D.
Cardiovascular Disease · Houston, TX
Practice pattern: Cardiac Imaging
— Practice with significant diagnostic imaging and stress testing
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. Yao 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. Yao
Dr. David Yao is a cardiovascular disease specialist in Houston, TX, with 17 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Yao performed 7,400 Medicare services across 3,646 unique beneficiaries.
Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Yao received a total of $26,718 from 39 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 622 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in cardiovascular disease. 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. Yao 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 7% volume in TX
$26,718 industry payments
Medicare Practice Summary
Medicare Utilization ↗7,400
Medicare services
Top 7% in TX for cardiovascular disease
3,646
Unique beneficiaries
$157
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · Not a quality rating · How to read this →
~435 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regadenoson injection (Lexiscan) for heart stress test An injection of regadenoson, a medication used to stress the heart during diagnostic testing. |
1,324 | $42 | $118 |
| 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. |
1,270 | $64 | $150 |
| 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. |
1,013 | $94 | $145 |
| Remote cardiac rhythm monitor evaluation, up to 30 days Review and analysis of data from a remote cardiac rhythm monitoring system over a period of up to 30 days. |
429 | $20 | $125 |
| Echocardiogram, transthoracic An ultrasound of the heart that uses color to show blood flow, rate, direction, and valve function. |
371 | $148 | $1,404 |
| Exercise or drug-induced heart stress test with ECG A heart stress test performed using exercise or medication while monitoring the electrocardiogram under physician supervision and review. |
336 | $55 | $575 |
| Rubidium rb-82, diagnostic, per study dose, up to 60 millicuries | 319 | $618 | $1,981 |
| Chronic care management, first 20 min/month This service covers the first 20 minutes of clinical staff time directed by a healthcare professional each calendar month to manage chronic conditions. |
244 | $47 | $120 |
| Nuclear stress test of heart muscle A nuclear medicine imaging test that evaluates blood flow to the heart muscle while at rest and during stress. |
243 | $1,059 | $3,250 |
| 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. |
229 | $96 | $175 |
| Initial hospital admission, high complexity Initial hospital inpatient or observation care for a new patient involving high-level medical decision making, with at least 75 minutes total time on the date of the encounter. |
199 | $140 | $300 |
| Transesophageal echocardiogram An ultrasound of the heart performed using a probe inserted into the esophagus to obtain detailed images of heart structures and function. |
121 | $84 | $295 |
| Echocardiogram, transthoracic An ultrasound test that uses sound waves to create images of the heart's blood flow, valves, and chambers. |
121 | $14 | $92 |
| Echocardiogram with color Doppler An ultrasound of the heart that uses color imaging to visualize blood flow, measure flow rate, and assess valve function. |
121 | $2 | $10 |
| Remote monitoring of implantable heart device, up to 30 days Remote evaluation of an implanted heart or blood vessel monitoring system over a period of up to 30 days. |
105 | $21 | $110 |
| Remote pacemaker monitoring, 90 days Remote assessment of a pacemaker system, including single, dual, multiple lead, or leadless devices, performed up to 90 days apart. |
97 | $23 | $94 |
| Chronic care management, additional 20 min/month This service covers an extra 20 minutes of clinical staff time directed by a healthcare professional for managing two or more chronic conditions each calendar month. |
94 | $38 | $118 |
| Nuclear stress test with CT scan A nuclear medicine imaging test that evaluates blood flow in the heart muscle at rest and during stress, performed alongside a concurrent CT scan. |
73 | $1,937 | $5,953 |
| Office visit, established patient, complex (40-54 min) An office or outpatient visit for an existing patient lasting between 40 and 54 minutes. This level of service is determined by the total time spent on the date of the encounter. |
73 | $138 | $215 |
| New patient office visit, complex (60-74 min) | 72 | $163 | $476 |
| Remote patient monitoring device, 30 days Initial setup of devices for remote monitoring of body functions with daily data transmission or alerts. This service covers the first 30 days of the monitoring period. |
61 | $40 | $128 |
| Electrocardiogram (EKG), 12-lead A standard heart rhythm test using at least 12 leads to record electrical activity. A healthcare provider interprets the results and provides a written report. |
54 | $11 | $125 |
| Remote patient monitoring management, 20 min/month Management based on results from remote vital sign monitoring for the first 20 minutes per calendar month. |
51 | $39 | $128 |
| External shock to heart to regulate heart beat A procedure that delivers an electric shock to the heart from outside the body to restore a normal heart rhythm. |
34 | $86 | $440 |
| Sedation by physician, initial 15 minutes Administration of a drug to induce depression of consciousness by the physician performing a procedure. This code covers the initial 15 minutes of sedation for patients aged 5 years or older. |
34 | $10 | $40 |
| Transitional care management, high complexity Coordination of care for a patient transitioning from a short-term hospital stay or other facility to home or another care setting. This service addresses a high-complexity medical problem. |
28 | $211 | $450 |
| Insertion of implantable heart rhythm monitor A small device is placed under the skin to continuously record the heart's electrical activity. This helps detect irregular heart rhythms that may not appear during a standard office visit. |
27 | $3,525 | $12,000 |
| Transitional care management services, moderate complexity Services provided to coordinate care during the transition from an inpatient or other facility setting back to the community. This includes follow-up and management of a health problem of at least moderate complexity. |
27 | $160 | $375 |
| Ultrasound of head and neck blood flow, bilateral An ultrasound exam that uses sound waves to visualize and assess blood flow in the vessels of both the head and the neck. |
24 | $148 | $658 |
| Continuous ECG monitoring, up to 30 days Continuous heart rhythm monitoring for up to 30 days, including professional review and reporting of the results. |
22 | $19 | $65 |
| Continuous external EKG monitoring, 48 hours to 7 days This procedure involves recording, analyzing, and interpreting a continuous external electrocardiogram (EKG) over a period of more than 48 hours up to 7 days. |
20 | $185 | $660 |
| 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. |
20 | $135 | $396 |
| 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. |
20 | $53 | $110 |
| Nuclear stress test of heart muscle A nuclear medicine imaging test that evaluates blood flow to the heart muscle at rest and during stress using a special camera. |
19 | $345 | $2,115 |
| Coronary angiography A procedure to insert a tube into a coronary artery to capture diagnostic images of the heart's blood vessels. |
19 | $191 | $1,200 |
| Technetium Tc-99m tetrofosmin diagnostic injection A diagnostic injection of Technetium Tc-99m tetrofosmin used for imaging studies. |
19 | $69 | $500 |
| Office visit, established patient (10-19 min) An office visit for an existing patient lasting 10 to 19 minutes. The visit involves medical evaluation and management of the patient's condition. |
18 | $29 | $75 |
| Remote physiologic monitoring setup and education Initial setup of remote monitoring equipment and patient education on its use. |
17 | $15 | $49 |
| 30-day continuous ECG with patient-triggered event transmission and review This procedure involves continuous electrocardiogram monitoring for up to 30 days, including the transmission of patient-triggered events. A healthcare professional reviews the data and provides a report. |
16 | $678 | $2,345 |
| Ultrasound of arm or leg veins An ultrasound exam of the veins in the arm or leg. The test uses sound waves to check blood flow and may include compression and other maneuvers. |
16 | $153 | $503 |
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.
8.0% high complexity
31.0% medium
61.0% routine
Industry Payment Transparency
Open Payments through 2024 ↗$26,718
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $3,817/year across 7 years
Top 16% in TX for cardiovascular disease
39
Companies
622
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
$26,718 (100.0%)
Payment trend by year
Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
2024
$3,940
2023
$2,783
2022
$4,262
2021
$4,892
2020
$2,929
2019
$2,710
2018
$5,201
Payments by company (2024)
Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
Abbott Laboratories
$15,421
BIOTRONIK INC.
$3,274
Amgen Inc.
$990
PFIZER INC.
$781
E.R. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.
$654
Medtronic, Inc.
$626
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
$530
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
$495
Boston Scientific Corporation
$455
ZOLL Services LLC (A/K/A ZOLL LifeCor Corp)
$390
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$346
BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION
$299
Paragonix Technologies, Inc.
$261
Novo Nordisk Inc
$240
Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.
$229
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$164
Medtronic Vascular, Inc.
$157
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
$156
Esperion Therapeutics, Inc.
$149
Acutus Medical, Inc.
$135
G Medical Diagnostic Services, Inc.
$131
Amarin Pharma Inc.
$120
Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, plc
$99
Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc.
$97
Astellas Pharma US Inc
$87
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
$79
HeartFlow, Inc.
$64
Tactile Systems Technology Inc
$60
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$39
SANOFI-AVENTIS U.S. LLC
$27
Bardy Diagnostics, Inc.
$25
AltaThera Pharmaceuticals LLC
$24
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$21
Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.
$18
iRhythm Technologies, Inc.
$17
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$16
Biosense Webster, Inc.
$16
Gilead Sciences, Inc.
$15
Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd.
$14
Top 3 companies account for 73.7% of total payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
ACCENT · AIRSUPRA · ALLURE QUADRA · ASSURITY · AVEIR · Accent Pacemaker · Acticor · Allure Quadra RF CRT Pacemaker · Arcalyst · Assurity Pacemaker · BioMonitor · CAMZYOS · CARDIOMEMS · CARTO 3 · CHANTIX · CONFIRM RX · COREVALVE EVOLUT R · CRT Leads · CRT-Ds · Cardiac Monitoring Suite · CardioMEMS HF System · Carnation Ambulatory Monitor · Confirm Rx · CorPath Imaging System · Corlanor · ELIQUIS · ENTRESTO · EVKEEZA · Edwards SAPIEN 3 Ultra Transcatheter Heart Valve · Ellipse ICD · EnSite Precision Cardiac Mapping System · Ensite Cardiac Mapping System · FARXIGA · FFRct · FORTIFY ASSURA · Flexitouch Plus · Fortify Assura · GALLANT · HAWKONE · HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Assist Device · INVOKANA · JARDIANCE · JOT DX · LEQVIO · LEXISCAN · LOKELMA · LUX-Dx Insertable Cardiac Monitor · LifeVest · MERLIN@HOME · MITRACLIP · MULTAQ · NEXLETOL · ONPATTRO · ONYX FRONTIER · OPTISURE · Optimizer · Optimizer Smart System · Ozempic · PRADAXA · PRALUENT · PRESSUREWIRE · Pacemakers · Pacing Leads · Perclose ProGlide suture mediated closure system · QUADRA ASSURA · Quadra Assura CRT Defibrillator · Quartet CRT Lead · RESONATE · REVEAL LINQ · Repatha · Resolute · SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA · SherpaPak · Solia · Sotalol Hydrochloride · THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT · UNIFY ASSURA · Ultreon · Unify Assura CRT Defibrillator · VERQUVO · VYNDAQEL · Vascepa · Verquvo · WATCHMAN · WATCHMAN Access System · WATCHMAN FLX · Wegovy · XARELTO · ZIO XT Patch · Zephyr Pacemaker
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 $361 per 100 Medicare services performed
Geographic Context
Cardiologists within 10 mi
396
Per 100K population
8.3
County median income
$73,104
Nearest hospital
HCA HOUSTON HEALTHCARE 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. Yao is a cardiac imaging specialist, with above-average Medicare volume (top 7% in TX), with low-engagement industry engagement in the top 16% 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. Yao experienced with regadenoson injection (lexiscan) for heart stress test?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Yao performed 1,324 regadenoson injection (lexiscan) for heart stress test 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. Yao receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Yao received a total of $26,718 from 39 companies across 622 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. Yao's costs compare to other cardiologists in Houston?
Dr. Yao's average Medicare payment per service is $157. 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. Yao) 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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