Medicare Enrolled

Dr. Stephanie Coulter, MD

Optician · Houston, TX
Practice pattern: Cardiac & Cardiac — Practice combining cardiac and cardiac services
Low-engagement
6624 FANNIN ST, Houston, TX 77030
7137909401
In practice since 2006 (19 years)
NPI: 1376566273 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. Coulter 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. Coulter? Request a correction or review of any data shown here. Provider portal →

What this data tells you about Dr. Coulter

Dr. Stephanie Coulter is an optician specialist in Houston, TX, with 19 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Coulter performed 3,257 Medicare services across 2,914 unique beneficiaries.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Coulter received a total of $26,961 from 55 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 786 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in optician. 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. Coulter 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 ▲ Top 21% volume in TX $26,961 industry payments

Medicare Practice Summary

Medicare Utilization ↗
3,257
Medicare services
Top 21% in TX for optician
2,914
Unique beneficiaries
$86
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · Not a quality rating · How to read this →
~171 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
Echocardiogram, transthoracic 1,391 $142 $409
Electrocardiogram (EKG), 12-lead 501 $10 $33
Office visit, established patient (20-29 min) 344 $63 $120
Heart muscle strain imaging 281 $30 $53
Ultrasound of heart, follow-up 163 $73 $147
Office visit, established patient (30-39 min) 161 $94 $168
Ultrasound of heart with color-depicted blood flow, rate and valve function 94 $2 $5
Ultrasound of heart blood flow, valves and chambers 93 $14 $26
Ultrasound of heart with probe in esophagus, with report 80 $85 $149
Office visit, established patient (10-19 min) 30 $35 $73
Ultrasound of both sides of head and neck blood flow 27 $136 $335
New patient office visit (30-44 min) 24 $76 $150
External shock to heart to regulate heart beat 18 $87 $168
Chest X-ray, 2 views 13 $27 $47
New patient office visit (45-59 min) 13 $124 $217
Exercise or drug-induced heart stress test with electrocardiogram (ecg) with supervision and review by physician 12 $55 $140
Ultrasound of heart during rest, exercise and/or drug-induced stress with report 12 $55 $116
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.
48.4% high complexity
17.7% medium
33.9% routine

Industry Payment Transparency

Open Payments through 2024 ↗
$26,961
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $3,852/year across 7 years
Top 8% in TX for optician
55
Companies
786
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
$15,432 (57.2%)
Consulting
Expert advisory fees, typically reflecting recognized clinical expertise
$6,415 (23.8%)
Speaking / Promotional
Speaker programs, honoraria, and industry-sponsored educational events
$5,114 (19.0%)

Payment trend by year

Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

2024
$2,524
2023
$7,398
2022
$2,516
2021
$2,059
2020
$7,048
2019
$3,042
2018
$2,373

Payments by company (2024)

Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
SANOFI-AVENTIS U.S. LLC
$6,753
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$4,369
Abbott Laboratories
$1,938
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$1,683
Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.
$1,430
Amgen Inc.
$1,055
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
$1,037
Lilly USA, LLC
$910
E.R. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.
$899
PFIZER INC.
$853
Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc.
$774
Novo Nordisk Inc
$747
Gilead Sciences, Inc.
$530
Astellas Pharma US Inc
$286
Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc.
$285
Medtronic, Inc.
$268
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
$254
Boston Scientific Corporation
$244
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
$218
iRhythm Technologies, Inc.
$211
Esperion Therapeutics, Inc.
$203
Endologix LLC
$169
Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.
$169
NOVARTIS PHARMACEUTICALS CORPORATION
$143
ZOLL Services LLC (A/K/A ZOLL LifeCor Corp)
$138
Chiesi USA, Inc.
$120
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$119
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
$118
CARDIVA MEDICAL, INC.
$115
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$100
Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC
$79
Allergan Inc.
$66
Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, plc
$63
Vifor Pharma, Inc.
$50
Inari Medical, Inc.
$46
HeartFlow, Inc.
$45
Amarin Pharma Inc.
$38
CHIESI USA, INC.
$33
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$31
HEARTFLOW, INC.
$31
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corporation
$29
Akcea Therapeutics, Inc.
$29
CVRx, Inc.
$29
Noden Pharma USA Inc
$27
Itamar Medical Inc
$26
Bolton Medical Inc
$26
AGEPHA Pharma FZ LLC
$24
PORTOLA PHARMACEUTICALS, LLC
$21
Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd.
$21
Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$21
Avinger Inc.
$20
GENZYME CORPORATION
$20
Baxter Healthcare
$17
BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION
$15
Preventice Services, LLC
$13
Top 3 companies account for 48.4% of total payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
AFX2 Bifurcated Endograft System · ANDEXXA · Adempas · Arcalyst · BRILINTA · BYSTOLIC · Barostim Neo System · CAMZYOS · CARDENE · CARDIOMEMS · CARDIVA VASCADE 6/7F VCS · CARDIVA VASCADE MVP VVCS 6-12F · CHANTIX · CLEVIPREX 50MG/100ML · CoreValve Evolut · Corlanor · CryoConsole · ELELYSO · ELIQUIS · ENDURANT IIS · ENTRESTO · FABRAZYME · FARXIGA · FFRct · FLOWTRIEVER CATHETER · Hillrom - Carnation Ambulatory Monitor · Inpefa · JARDIANCE · KENGREAL · Kerendia · LEQVIO · LEXISCAN · LIVALO · LODOCO · LUX-Dx Insertable Cardiac Monitor · LifeVest · Livalo · MITRACLIP · MULTAQ · Mitra Clip system · MitraClip System · NEXLETOL · ONPATTRO · OPSUMIT · OPSUMIT MACITENTAN · OPTIMIZER · Optimizer · Optimizer Smart System · Ovation iX Iliac Stent Graft · Ozempic · PANTHERIS · PRADAXA · PRALUENT · PRALUENT ALIROCUMAB INJECTION · Repatha · S · TEGSEDI · TEKTURNA · THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT · TREO ABDOMINAL STENT-GRAFT SYSTEM · UPTRAVI · VERQUVO · VYNDAQEL · Vascepa · Veltassa · WATCHMAN · WATCHMAN Access System · WATCHMAN FLX · WatchPATONE · Wegovy · XARELTO · ZIO Patch · ZIO XT Patch · Zio monitor
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 (57%) are for meals and travel — low-value interactions that are common across virtually all practicing physicians. Total industry engagement is in the top 8% for optician in TX.

Equivalent to $828 per 100 Medicare services performed
Looking for an optician specialist in Houston?
Compare opticians in the Houston area by procedure volume, costs, and industry payment transparency.
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Geographic Context

Opticians within 10 mi
524
Per 100K population
11.0
County median income
$73,104
Nearest hospital
MEMORIAL HERMANN - TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER
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. Coulter is a cardiac & cardiac specialist, with above-average Medicare volume (top 21% in TX), with low-engagement industry engagement in the top 8% of TX peers, with 19 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. Coulter experienced with echocardiogram, transthoracic?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Coulter performed 1,391 echocardiogram, transthoracic 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. Coulter receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Coulter received a total of $26,961 from 55 companies across 786 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. Coulter's costs compare to other opticians in Houston?
Dr. Coulter's average Medicare payment per service is $86. 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. Coulter) 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 →