Medicare Enrolled

Dr. Luz Tastard, M.D

Spinal Cord Injury Medicine Physician · Houston, TX
Practice pattern: Mixed Practice— Diverse clinical practice across multiple procedure types
Low-engagement
6560 FANNIN ST, Houston, TX 77030
7134415189
In practice since 2006 (19 years)
NPI: 1144313560 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. Tastard 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. Tastard? Request a correction or review of any data shown here. Provider portal →

What this data tells you about Dr. Tastard

Dr. Luz Tastard is a spinal cord injury medicine physician in Houston, TX, with 19 years in practice. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Tastard performed 1,128 Medicare services across 521 unique beneficiaries.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Tastard received a total of $2,229 from 24 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 93 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in spinal cord injury medicine physician. 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. Tastard 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.

✓ 19 years in practice▲ 1,128 Medicare services$ $2,229 industry payments

Medicare Practice Summary

Medicare Utilization ↗
1,128
Medicare services
Bottom 29% in TX for spinal cord injury medicine physician
Lower Medicare volume may reflect subspecialty focus, hospital-based work, or a higher share of non-Medicare patients.
521
Unique beneficiaries
$87
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · Not a quality rating · How to read this →
~59 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.

ProcedureVolumeAvg. paidAvg. submitted
Hospital follow-up visit, high complexity638$95$302
Hospital follow-up visit, moderate complexity265$63$211
Initial hospital admission, high complexity81$137$588
Hospital follow-up visit, low complexity65$40$115
Hospital discharge management, 30+ min65$93$311
Initial hospital admission, moderate complexity14$105$401
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.

Industry Payment Transparency

Open Payments through 2024 ↗
$2,229
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $318/year across 7 years
Top 17% in TX for spinal cord injury medicine physician
24
Companies
93
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
$2,229 (100.0%)

Payment trend by year

Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

2024
$304
2023
$259
2022
$263
2021
$414
2020
$157
2019
$281
2018
$551

Payments by company (2024)

Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
Piramal Critical Care
$400
ABBVIE INC.
$386
Merz Pharmaceuticals, LLC
$233
AbbVie Inc.
$227
GRT US Holding, Inc.
$124
Allergan Inc.
$122
Merz North America, Inc.
$97
Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$84
Medtronic, Inc.
$81
Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$79
Saol Therapeutics Inc.
$77
Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.
$39
Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc
$39
Horizon Therapeutics plc
$31
Amgen Inc.
$29
IMPEL PHARMACEUTICALS INC.
$28
Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.
$27
MERZ NORTH AMERICA, INC.
$25
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$24
RedHill Biopharma Inc.
$23
PFIZER INC.
$16
Biogen, Inc.
$14
Dynasplint Systems Inc.
$13
Allergan, Inc.
$12
Top 3 companies account for 45.7% of total payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
Aimovig · Austedo XR · BOTOX · BOTOX THERAPEUTIC · DUEXIS · DYSPORT · Dynasplint · GABLOFEN · GABLOFEN 1 mL in 1 SYRINGE · GLASS · INGREZZA · LYRICA · Lioresal (baclofen) · Movantik · NUEDEXTA · NURTEC ODT · Qutenza · SPINRAZA · SYNCHROMEDII · Trudhesa · UBRELVY · XARELTO · XEOMIN · Xeomin
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 $198 per 100 Medicare services performed
Looking for a spinal cord injury medicine physician in Houston?
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Geographic Context

Spinal Cord Injury Medicine Physicians within 10 mi
9
Per 100K population
0.2
County median income
$73,104
Nearest hospital
MEMORIAL HERMANN - TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER
0.0 mi

Data Sources

Provider Registry NPPESWeekly updates
Medicare Enrollment PECOSMonthly updates
Practice Data Medicare Util.Annual (CY lag)
Industry Payments Open PaymentsCY 2024
Disciplinary History— Not publicN/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. Tastard is a mixed practice specialist, with moderate Medicare volume, and high industry engagement (low-engagement, top 17%), with 19 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

Is Dr. Tastard experienced with hospital follow-up visit, high complexity?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Tastard performed 638 hospital follow-up visit, high complexity 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. Tastard receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Tastard received a total of $2,229 from 24 companies across 93 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. Tastard's costs compare to other spinal cord injury medicine physicians in Houston?
Dr. Tastard's average Medicare payment per service is $87. 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. Tastard) 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 →
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.

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. Payments from industry are legal and do not indicate wrongdoing. 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 →