Medicare Enrolled

Dr. Joseph Spindler, M.D.

Rheumatology · Houston, TX
Practice pattern: Clinical Cardiology — Primarily office-based clinical cardiology
6655 TRAVIS ST, Houston, TX 77030
7135244494
Registered in NPPES since 2005
NPI: 1023010584 verify on NPPES ↗
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. Spindler 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. Spindler

Dr. Joseph Spindler is a rheumatology specialist in Houston, TX, with 21 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Spindler performed 1,029 Medicare services in 2023. These records do not provide a deduplicated patient total.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Spindler received a total of $9,976 from 37 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 505 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. Spindler is Very High — 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.

✓ 21 years of NPI registration ▲ 1,029 Medicare services $9,976 industry payments

Medicare Practice Summary — 2023

Medicare Utilization ↗
1,029
Medicare services
Bottom 44% in TX for rheumatology
Not available
Unique patients (not deduplicated)
$79
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · How to read this →

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)
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.
753 $88 $444
Complete ultrasound scan of joint
An ultrasound exam that uses sound waves to create detailed images of a joint. This procedure allows for the visualization of the joint's internal structures.
89 $42 $394
Injection, methylprednisolone acetate, 40 mg 83 $6 $9
Ultrasound-guided large joint aspiration or injection
This procedure uses ultrasound imaging to guide the removal of fluid from or the injection of medication into a large joint.
46 $81 $314
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.
34 $123 $496
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.
24 $120 $550
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. These counts do not measure clinical quality or years of experience.

Industry Payment Transparency

Open Payments through 2024 ↗
$9,976
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $1,425/year across 7 years
Top 33% in TX for rheumatology
A higher payment rank reflects disclosed industry relationships (consulting, research, speaking) common among subspecialists — not wrongdoing.
37
Companies
505
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
$1,384
2023
$2,079
2022
$1,537
2021
$1,093
2020
$560
2019
$1,259
2018
$2,064

Payments by company (2024)

Amgen Inc.
$427
ABBVIE INC.
$241
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
$186
Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC
$176
Janssen Biotech, Inc.
$105
Sandoz Inc.
$47
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$37
Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc.
$37
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
$30
Radius Health, Inc.
$23
Genentech USA, Inc.
$21
Kyowa Kirin, Inc.
$20
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$19
Bioventus LLC
$16
Top 3 companies account for 61.7% of 2024 payments
All-time payments by company (2018-2024) ›
Amgen Inc.
$3,115
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
$1,486
Lilly USA, LLC
$654
AbbVie Inc.
$543
Janssen Biotech, Inc.
$534
ABBVIE INC.
$519
Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC
$347
Celgene Corporation
$306
E.R. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.
$274
PFIZER INC.
$240
Horizon Therapeutics plc
$232
GlaxoSmithKline, LLC.
$224
AbbVie, Inc.
$220
GENZYME CORPORATION
$176
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$161
Radius Health, Inc.
$105
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
$86
Aurinia Pharma U.S., Inc.
$79
UCB, Inc.
$73
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$70
Sandoz Inc.
$70
TerSera Therapeutics LLC
$49
Mylan Institutional Inc.
$47
Genentech USA, Inc.
$40
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.
$37
Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc.
$37
Bioventus LLC
$35
Mallinckrodt LLC
$35
SANOFI-AVENTIS U.S. LLC
$33
ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$27
Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd.
$21
Horizon Pharma plc
$20
Kyowa Kirin, Inc.
$20
Abbott Laboratories
$17
Gilead Sciences, Inc.
$16
Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC
$14
Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.
$14
Top 3 companies account for 52.7% of all-time payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
ACTHAR · AVSOLA · Actemra · Arcalyst · BENLYSTA · COSENTYX · CYLTEZO · Cimzia · Crysvita · DUEXIS · DUROLANE · Durolane · EVENITY · Enbrel · FORTEO · HUMIRA · HYRIMOZ · Hulio · Humira · IDACIO · ILARIS · KEVZARA · KRYSTEXXA · LUPKYNIS · OFEV · OLUMIANT · ORENCIA · Otezla · PENNSAID · PRIALT · PROCLAIM · PURIFIED CORTROPHIN GEL · Prolia · RAYOS · REMICADE · RINVOQ · Rinvoq · Rituxan · SAPHNELO · SKYRIZI · STRENSIQ · Strensiq · TALTZ · TAVNEOS · TREMFYA · Tavneos · Tymlos · Uloric · XELJANZ
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 a rheumatology specialist in Houston?
Compare rheumatologists in the Houston area by procedure volume, costs, and industry payment transparency.
Browse rheumatologists nearby

Geographic Context

Rheumatologists in nearby ZIP areas
81
County median income
$73,104
Nearest hospital to ZIP centroid (approximate)
MEMORIAL HERMANN - TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER
0.0 mi

Data Sources

Provider Registry NPPES NPPES snapshot; verify current record
Medicare Enrollment PECOS PECOS snapshot
Practice Data Medicare Util. Annual (CY lag)
Industry Payments Open Payments CY 2024
Disciplinary History — Not included N/A

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

Summary

Dr. Spindler is a clinical cardiology specialist, with moderate Medicare volume, with 21 years of NPI registration.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Dr. Spindler experienced with office visit, established patient (30-39 min)?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Spindler performed 753 office visit, established patient (30-39 min) services. These records cover Medicare fee-for-service activity, including eligible younger beneficiaries; they do not measure total practice volume or clinical quality.
Does Dr. Spindler receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Spindler received a total of $9,976 from 37 companies across 505 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.
How do Dr. Spindler's costs compare to other rheumatologists in Houston?
Dr. Spindler's average Medicare payment per service is $79. 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. Spindler) 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 →
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 ↗, 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. 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.

Provider corrections: Provider portal · Privacy questions: Privacy Policy · Terms: Terms of Use · Methodology: Methodology

Data Disclaimer — Data sourced from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), Open Payments program, Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data, and Provider Enrollment & Certification data (PECOS). Published under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This website is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by CMS, HHS, or the U.S. Government. Data may contain errors as reported to CMS by providers and reporting entities. Industry payment disclosure alone establishes neither wrongdoing nor legality. Medicare data reflects only patients aged 65+ or those with qualifying disabilities. For corrections, contact CMS directly. This information does not constitute medical advice and should not be used as the sole basis for choosing a healthcare provider. Procedure descriptions use plain language and do not reference CPT® codes, which are copyrighted by the American Medical Association. Full methodology → · Report a data error → · Privacy policy →