Dr. Vijaya Pokala, M.D., F.A.C.C.
What this data tells you about Dr. Pokala
Dr. Vijaya Pokala is an internal medicine specialist in Nacogdoches, TX, with 19 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Pokala performed 8,526 Medicare services across 3,941 unique beneficiaries.
Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Pokala received a total of $10,486 from 40 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 564 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in internal medicine. 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. Pokala 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.
Medicare Practice Summary
Medicare Utilization ↗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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contrast dye for imaging (iodine-based) | 1,980 | $0 | $2 |
| Office visit, established patient (30-39 min) | 1,731 | $80 | $298 |
| Electrocardiogram (EKG), 12-lead | 623 | $10 | $58 |
| Office visit, established patient (20-29 min) | 488 | $62 | $202 |
| EKG interpretation and report | 475 | $6 | $25 |
| Hospital follow-up visit, moderate complexity | 343 | $60 | $202 |
| Regadenoson injection (Lexiscan) for heart stress test | 292 | $43 | $155 |
| Initial hospital admission, high complexity | 247 | $124 | $562 |
| Echocardiogram, transthoracic | 170 | $126 | $726 |
| Exercise or drug-induced heart stress test with electrocardiogram (ecg) with supervision and review by physician | 159 | $47 | $272 |
| Prothrombin time test (blood clotting) | 155 | $4 | $15 |
| Evaluation of single, dual, multiple lead or leadless pacemaker system | 127 | $35 | $119 |
| Infusion into a vein for therapy, prevention, or diagnosis, 1 hour or less | 123 | $47 | $202 |
| Steroid injection (triamcinolone) | 122 | $1 | $6 |
| Annual wellness visit, follow-up | 113 | $124 | $324 |
| Anticoagulant management of patient taking warfarin | 111 | $7 | $34 |
| Injection of drug or substance into vein | 108 | $28 | $148 |
| Nuclear medicine studies of heart muscle at rest and with stress and spect | 102 | $313 | $1,349 |
| Technetium tc-99m tetrofosmin, diagnostic, per study dose | 99 | $111 | $815 |
| Physician review, interpretation, and patient management of home inr testing for patient with either mechanical heart valve(s), chronic atrial fibrillation, or venous thromboembolism who meets medicare coverage criteria; testing not occurring more frequent | 95 | $7 | $27 |
| Ceftriaxone antibiotic injection | 93 | $0 | $3 |
| New patient office visit (45-59 min) | 85 | $121 | $454 |
| Office visit, established patient (10-19 min) | 74 | $40 | $122 |
| Ultrasound of heart, follow-up | 73 | $67 | $333 |
| New patient office visit (30-44 min) | 50 | $76 | $299 |
| Ultrasound study of arm and leg arteries | 48 | $52 | $328 |
| Evaluation of single, dual, or multiple lead implantable defibrillator system | 47 | $50 | $181 |
| Electrocardiogram (ecg) 2-day continuous with review and report by health care professional | 32 | $47 | $324 |
| Coronary stent placement | 28 | $380 | $1,734 |
| Ultrasound of both sides of head and neck blood flow | 28 | $136 | $701 |
| Test for exercise-induced lung stress | 27 | $25 | $96 |
| Drug injection, under skin or into muscle | 25 | $9 | $66 |
| Physician or allowed practitioner re-certification for medicare-covered home health services under a home health plan of care (patient not present), including contacts with home health agency and review of reports of patient status required by physicians a | 24 | $30 | $117 |
| Hospital discharge day management, 30 minutes or less | 22 | $62 | $204 |
| Joint injection, major joint | 21 | $42 | $191 |
| Exercise or drug-induced heart stress test with electrocardiogram (ecg) with supervision by physician | 20 | $15 | $68 |
| Exercise or drug-induced heart stress test with electrocardiogram (ecg) with review by physician | 20 | $10 | $45 |
| Ultrasound of heart with probe in esophagus, with report | 20 | $81 | $315 |
| Ultrasound of leg arteries or artery grafts | 19 | $156 | $866 |
| Ultrasound study of one arm or leg veins with compression and maneuvers | 19 | $63 | $457 |
| External shock to heart to regulate heart beat | 16 | $76 | $362 |
| Insertion of tube into abdominal, pelvic, or leg artery, each first order branch | 13 | $546 | $3,631 |
| Limited ultrasound scan behind abdominal cavity | 13 | $38 | $230 |
| Electrocardiogram (ecg) up to 30 days continuous with review and report by health care professional | 12 | $16 | $73 |
| Inhalation treatment for airway obstruction or sputum production | 12 | $7 | $53 |
| Heart rhythm recording, analysis, report, review, and interpretation of continous external ekg over more than 48 hours up to 7 days | 11 | $187 | $669 |
| Cardiac catheterization | 11 | $687 | $3,030 |
Industry Payment Transparency
Open Payments through 2024 ↗Payment profile
Industry payments classified by relationship type. Not all payments are equal — research and consulting reflect different relationships than speaking programs or meals.
Payment trend by year
Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
Payments by company (2024)
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
Most payments (98%) 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 internal medicine in TX.
Geographic Context
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. Pokala is a clinical cardiology specialist, with above-average Medicare volume (top 4% 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. Pokala experienced with contrast dye for imaging (iodine-based)?
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Explore related providers
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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