Medicare Enrolled

Dr. Norberto Alvarez, MD

Sports Medicine (Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine) Physician · Laredo, TX
Practice pattern: Clinical Cardiology— Primarily office-based clinical cardiology
Low-engagement
1419 CLARK BLVD, Laredo, TX 78040
9567230039
In practice since 2007 (18 years)
NPI: 1730383324 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. Alvarez 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. Alvarez

Dr. Norberto Alvarez is a sports medicine (neuromusculoskeletal medicine) physician in Laredo, TX, with 18 years in practice. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Alvarez performed 1,862 Medicare services across 933 unique beneficiaries.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Alvarez received a total of $4,289 from 44 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 264 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in sports medicine (neuromusculoskeletal 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. Alvarez 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.

✓ 18 years in practice▲ 1,862 Medicare services$ $4,289 industry payments

Medicare Practice Summary

Medicare Utilization ↗
1,862
Medicare services
Bottom 29% in TX for sports medicine (neuromusculoskeletal medicine) physician
Lower Medicare volume may reflect subspecialty focus, hospital-based work, or a higher share of non-Medicare patients.
933
Unique beneficiaries
$73
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · Not a quality rating · How to read this →
~103 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
Office visit, established patient (30-39 min)803$79$209
Office visit, established patient (20-29 min)343$57$141
Hospital follow-up visit, moderate complexity142$62$110
Annual wellness visit, follow-up121$126$225
Annual depression screening68$18$35
Detection test by immunoassay with direct visual observation for influenza virus50$16$30
Nursing facility visit, moderate complexity50$70$178
Transitional care management services for problem of high complexity48$206$446
Automated urinalysis41$2$25
Hospital discharge day management, 30 minutes or less40$63$100
Initial hospital admission, high complexity33$133$250
Electrocardiogram (EKG), 12-lead24$10$75
Telephone medical discussion with physician, 5-10 minutes22$31$150
Detection test by immunoassay with direct visual observation for streptococcus, group a (strep)19$16$30
Influenza vaccine, quadrivalent derived from cell cultures, preservative and antibiotic free17$33$60
Flu vaccine administration17$29$30
Transitional care management services for problem of at least moderate complexity12$152$318
Annual wellness visit; includes a personalized prevention plan of service (pps), initial visit12$161$225
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 ↗
$4,289
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $613/year across 7 years
Top 25% in TX for sports medicine (neuromusculoskeletal medicine) physician
44
Companies
264
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
$4,189 (97.7%)
Speaking / Promotional
Speaker programs, honoraria, and industry-sponsored educational events
$100 (2.3%)

Payment trend by year

Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

2024
$802
2023
$675
2022
$440
2021
$788
2020
$885
2019
$372
2018
$326

Payments by company (2024)

Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
Lilly USA, LLC
$410
Novo Nordisk Inc
$366
GlaxoSmithKline, LLC.
$351
Amarin Pharma Inc.
$255
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corporation
$244
ABBVIE INC.
$196
Allergan, Inc.
$152
Esperion Therapeutics, Inc.
$151
Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$147
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$139
AbbVie Inc.
$132
Astellas Pharma US Inc
$117
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
$111
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
$110
SANOFI-AVENTIS U.S. LLC
$105
Amgen Inc.
$101
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
$96
Axsome Therapeutics, Inc.
$93
Eisai Inc.
$89
IDORSIA PHARMACEUTICALS US INC
$81
Corcept Therapeutics
$64
Cumberland Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$63
UCB, Inc.
$60
Salix Pharmaceuticals, a division of Bausch Health US, LLC
$57
E.R. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.
$56
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
$52
Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd.
$50
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$50
Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc.
$43
Phathom Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$40
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$37
PFIZER INC.
$30
Baxter Healthcare
$26
Phadia US Inc.
$25
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$25
Pernix Therapeutics Holdings, Inc.
$25
Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$23
Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$20
Allergan Inc.
$20
Ardelyx, Inc.
$20
Tactile Systems Technology Inc
$17
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.
$14
Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$13
Upsher-Smith Laboratories LLC
$12
Top 3 companies account for 26.3% of total payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
ANORO · ANORO ELLIPTA · APTIOM · Aimovig · Auvelity · BELSOMRA · BYSTOLIC · Crysvita · Dayvigo · ELIQUIS · ENTRESTO · EVENITY · FARXIGA · Flexitouch Plus · GEMTESA · Hillrom - Vest System Model 105 Home Care · IBSRELA · ImmunoCAP · Inpefa · JANUVIA · JARDIANCE · KRISTALOSE · Kerendia · Korlym · Kristalose · LEQVIO · LYRICA · MOUNJARO · MYRBETRIQ · NEXLETOL · NURTEC ODT · Otezla · Ozempic · PREVNAR 20 · Prolia · QUDEXY XR Topiramate Extended Release Capsules · QULIPTA · QUVIVIQ · REXULTI · RYBELSUS · Rybelsus · SILENOR · SOLIQUA 100/33 · STEGLATRO · STEGLUJAN · STIOLTO RESPIMAT · TOUJEO · TRELEGY ELLIPTA · TROKENDI XR · TRULICITY · UBRELVY · VERQUVO · VOQUEZNA · VRAYLAR · Vascepa · Vimpat · XARELTO · XIFAXAN
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 (98%) are for meals and travel — low-value interactions that are common across virtually all practicing physicians.

Equivalent to $230 per 100 Medicare services performed
Looking for a sports medicine (neuromusculoskeletal medicine) physician in Laredo?
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Geographic Context

Sports Medicine (Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine) Physicians within 10 mi
1
Per 100K population
0.4
County median income
$62,506
Nearest hospital
DOCTORS HOSPITAL OF LAREDO
4.0 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. Alvarez is a clinical cardiology specialist, with moderate Medicare volume, and low-engagement industry engagement, with 18 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. Alvarez experienced with office visit, established patient (30-39 min)?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Alvarez performed 803 office visit, established patient (30-39 min) 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. Alvarez receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Alvarez received a total of $4,289 from 44 companies across 264 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. Alvarez's costs compare to other sports medicine (neuromusculoskeletal medicine) physicians in Laredo?
Dr. Alvarez's average Medicare payment per service is $73. 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. Alvarez) 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 →