Medicare Enrolled
Dr. Karthik Mekala, M.D.
Interventional Cardiology · Longview, TX
Practice pattern: Cardiac & Cardiac— Practice combining cardiac and cardiac services
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. Mekala 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. Mekala
Dr. Karthik Mekala is an interventional cardiology in Longview, TX, with 13 years in practice. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Mekala performed 2,623 Medicare services across 2,393 unique beneficiaries.
Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Mekala received a total of $35,457 from 42 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 433 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in interventional cardiology. Most payments are for meals and travel — low-value interactions common across virtually all practicing physicians. Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.
The Data Coverage level for Dr. Mekala is Very High — reflecting how much public federal data is available about this provider. This is not a quality rating. Patients are encouraged to use this data as one of several factors when choosing a healthcare provider.
✓ 13 years in practice▲ Top 42% volume in TX$ $35,457 industry payments
Medicare Practice Summary
Medicare Utilization ↗2,623
Medicare services
Top 42% in TX for interventional cardiology
2,393
Unique beneficiaries
$58
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · Not a quality rating · How to read this →
~202 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| EKG interpretation and report | 531 | $6 | $19 |
| Echocardiogram, transthoracic | 400 | $49 | $687 |
| Office visit, established patient (30-39 min) | 264 | $68 | $289 |
| Use of a drug to induce depression of consciousness by physician performing a procedure (5 years or older), initial 15 minutes | 151 | $9 | $173 |
| New patient office visit (45-59 min) | 134 | $97 | $375 |
| Initial hospital admission, moderate complexity | 131 | $99 | $300 |
| Hospital follow-up visit, moderate complexity | 118 | $60 | $159 |
| Cardiac catheterization | 79 | $180 | $3,680 |
| Exercise or drug-induced heart stress test with electrocardiogram (ecg) with supervision by physician | 78 | $15 | $49 |
| Exercise or drug-induced heart stress test with electrocardiogram (ecg) with review by physician | 78 | $10 | $33 |
| Nuclear medicine studies of heart muscle at rest and with stress and spect | 75 | $54 | $265 |
| Ultrasound of heart with color-depicted blood flow, rate and valve function | 70 | $2 | $42 |
| Remote pacemaker monitoring, 90 days | 48 | $21 | $68 |
| Ultrasound of heart blood flow, valves and chambers | 44 | $13 | $177 |
| Coronary stent placement | 43 | $370 | $1,938 |
| Ultrasound of heart, follow-up | 43 | $18 | $340 |
| Initial hospital admission, high complexity | 41 | $128 | $441 |
| Repair of left upper heart chamber with implant with review by radiologist | 39 | $579 | $2,597 |
| Ultrasound of heart with probe in esophagus, with report | 38 | $80 | $831 |
| Ultrasound evaluation of heart blood vessel or graft with review by radiologist, initial vessel | 37 | $69 | $830 |
| Electrocardiogram (ecg) up to 30 days continuous with symptom monitoring, transmission and review and report by health care professional | 28 | $19 | $56 |
| Evaluation of single, dual, or multiple lead implantable defibrillator system, remote up to 90 days | 28 | $26 | $140 |
| Review by radiologist of both arms or legs arteries image | 26 | $66 | $316 |
| Ultrasound of heart blood flow, valves and chambers, follow-up | 26 | $5 | $88 |
| Ultrasound evaluation of heart blood vessel during diagnosis or treatment, initial vessel | 21 | $54 | $629 |
| Heart rhythm review and interpretation of continous external ekg over 8-15 days | 20 | $20 | $61 |
| Evaluation of single, dual, multiple lead or leadless pacemaker system | 17 | $13 | $132 |
| External shock to heart to regulate heart beat | 15 | $82 | $534 |
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.
28.8% high complexity
14.1% medium
57.1% routine
Industry Payment Transparency
Open Payments through 2024 ↗$35,457
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $5,065/year across 7 years
Top 14% in TX for interventional cardiology
42
Companies
433
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
$29,362 (82.8%)
Scientific / Research
Research funding and grants
$4,348 (12.3%)
Speaking / Promotional
Speaker programs, honoraria, and industry-sponsored educational events
$1,748 (4.9%)
Payment trend by year
Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
2024$4,039
2023$4,313
2022$4,980
2021$3,729
2020$2,974
2019$8,536
2018$6,886
Payments by company (2024)
Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
Medtronic Vascular, Inc.
$5,303
Penumbra, Inc.
$4,750
Philips Electronics North America Corporation
$4,515
W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
$2,045
Medtronic, Inc.
$1,987
BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION
$1,941
AngioDynamics, Inc.
$1,712
Boston Scientific Corporation
$1,706
Inari Medical, Inc.
$1,671
Abbott Laboratories
$1,666
Chiesi USA, Inc.
$1,308
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation
$884
Cardiovascular Systems Inc.
$882
ABIOMED
$550
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
$526
Terumo Medical Corporation
$497
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc
$418
Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc.
$407
ShockWave Medical, Inc
$402
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
$325
SANOFI-AVENTIS U.S. LLC
$241
ZOLL Services LLC (A/K/A ZOLL LifeCor Corp)
$232
BIOTRONIK INC.
$221
Cardinal Health 200, LLC
$203
EKOS Corporation
$152
Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.
$146
Biosense Webster, Inc.
$146
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
$126
HEARTFLOW, INC.
$101
CARDIVA MEDICAL, INC.
$73
Amgen Inc.
$64
Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc.
$57
E.R. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.
$55
iRhythm Technologies, Inc.
$25
Acist Medical Systems, Inc.
$17
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corporation
$16
Amarin Pharma Inc.
$16
AltaThera Pharmaceuticals LLC
$16
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$15
Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc.
$14
VentureMed Group, Inc.
$14
PFIZER INC.
$11
Top 3 companies account for 41.1% of total payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
(5027) Intact Vascular Und · (5044) MCOT · (6536) Phoenix · (6554) Peripheral Vascular Undivided · (6574) Coronary Other · (8334) IGT D Peripheral · (9285) AngioSculpt PV · ALPHAVAC · ANGIO-SEAL · AURYON LASER SYSTEM 100-120 VAC · AngioSeal · Asahi Fielder coronary guide wire · Auryon Laser System 100-120 Vac · Azure · BRILINTA · Baylis Medical Company Radiofrequency Puncture Generator · CAMZYOS · CARDIOFORM Septal Occluder · CARDIVA VASCADE 6/7F VCS · CARDIVA VASCADE MVP VVCS 6-12F · CARTO 3 · COREVALVE EVOLUT R · CROSSBOSS · CROSSER · CVI Consumables · ClosureFast · CoreValve Evolut · Corlanor · Coronary Orbital Atherectomy System · DIAMONDBACK CORONARY · DIAMONDBACK PERIPHERAL · Diamondback Coronary · Diamondback Peripheral · Dragonfly OCT · EDWARDS SAPIEN 3 TRANSCATHETER HEART VALVE (THV) · EKOSONIC · ELIQUIS · ELLIPSYS VASCULAR ACCESS SYSTEM · ENTRESTO · ESPRIT · EXCLUDER AAA Endoprosthesis · EXCLUDER Conformable AAA Endoprosthesis with Active Control · Edwards SAPIEN 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve · FARXIGA · FFRct · FLEX Vessel Prep System · FLOWTRIEVER CATHETER · GENERAL - THERAPIES · GORE EXCLUDER AAA Endoprosthesis · GORE VIABAHN VBX Balloon Expandable Endo · HI-TORQUE COMMAND · IGT D Peripheral · IGT Devices Und · INFINITI Diagnostic Catheter · Impella · Indigo · Indigo System · JARDIANCE · JETI · JETI ALL IN ONE NON-STERILE KIT · JETI PERIPHERAL CATHETER · JETSTREAM · JUXTAPID · KENGREAL · LEQVIO · LINQ II · LUTONIX · LifeVest · MICRA · MynxGrip Vascular Closure Device · Navicross · ONYX FRONTIER · OPTIMIZER · Optis Coronary Imaging System · PCI Optimization · PERCLOSE PROGLIDE · POD · PRALUENT · Penumbra Ruby Coil · Peripheral Orbital Atherectomy System · PressureWire FFR · RESOLUTE ONYX · Repatha · Resolute · S · SHOCKWAVE IVL SYSTEM WITH THE SHOCKWAVE C2 CORONARY IVL CATHETER · Shockwave IVL System with the Shockwave C2 Coronary IVL Catheter · Sotalol Hydrochloride · TELESCOPE · Telescope · Trilogy 100 · VERQUVO · VIEWMATE · Vascepa · VenaSeal · VersaCross Access Solution · WATCHMAN · WATCHMAN Access System · WORKMATE CLARIS · XACT · XARELTO · Xience Alpine cornary stent system · Xience Sierra Coronary Stent · Xience Sierra Coronary Stent System · Xience V coronary stent system · Xience cornary stent systems · ZIO XT Patch
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 (83%) are for meals and travel — low-value interactions that are common across virtually all practicing physicians.
Equivalent to $1,352 per 100 Medicare services performed
Geographic Context
Interventional Cardiologys within 10 mi
8
Per 100K population
6.4
County median income
$64,809
Nearest hospital
CHRISTUS GOOD SHEPHERD 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. Mekala is a cardiac & cardiac specialist, with moderate Medicare volume, and high industry engagement (low-engagement, top 14%).
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. Mekala experienced with ekg interpretation and report?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Mekala performed 531 ekg interpretation and report 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. Mekala receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Mekala received a total of $35,457 from 42 companies across 433 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. Mekala's costs compare to other interventional cardiologys in Longview?
Dr. Mekala's average Medicare payment per service is $58. 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. Mekala) 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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