Medicare Enrolled

Dr. Christopher Braden, D.O.

Hematology & Oncology · New Braunfels, TX
Practice pattern: Mixed Practice — Diverse clinical practice across multiple procedure types
Low-engagement
1448 E COMMON ST, New Braunfels, TX 78130
8306431762
In practice since 2006 (19 years)
NPI: 1497835680 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. Braden 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. Braden? Request a correction or review of any data shown here. Provider portal →

What this data tells you about Dr. Braden

Dr. Christopher Braden is a hematology & oncology specialist in New Braunfels, TX, with 19 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Braden performed 52,264 Medicare services across 2,936 unique beneficiaries.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Braden received a total of $332 from 9 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 11 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in hematology & oncology. 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. Braden 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 18% volume in TX $332 industry payments

Medicare Practice Summary

Medicare Utilization ↗
52,264
Medicare services
Top 18% in TX for hematology & oncology
2,936
Unique beneficiaries
$15
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · Not a quality rating · How to read this →
~2,751 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
Contrast dye for imaging (iodine-based) 13,808 $0 $3
Anti-nausea injection (fosaprepitant) 12,300 $0 $5
Pembrolizumab injection (Keytruda) 9,700 $43 $137
Iron sucrose injection (Venofer) 5,100 $0 $2
Dexamethasone injection (steroid) 1,644 $0 $1
Denosumab injection (Prolia/Xgeva) 1,500 $19 $66
Anti-nausea injection (Aloxi/palonosetron) 1,000 $1 $114
Blood draw (venipuncture) 650 $8 $20
Complete blood count (CBC) with differential 601 $8 $36
Injection, granisetron hydrochloride, 100 mcg 530 $0 $24
Comprehensive metabolic blood panel 513 $10 $64
Office visit, established patient (20-29 min) 510 $67 $250
Flow cytometry, additional marker 378 $18 $180
Infusion into a vein for therapy, prevention, or diagnosis, additional sequential infusion, 1 hour or less 360 $22 $157
Intensity modulated treatment delivery, single or multiple fields/arcs,via narrow spatially and temporally modulated beams, binary, dynamic mlc, per treatment session 333 $278 $2,762
Injection, carboplatin, 50 mg 295 $2 $300
Administration of chemotherapy into vein, 1 hour or less 241 $100 $707
Injection, fluorouracil, 500 mg 235 $2 $13
Immunoglobulin level test 144 $9 $56
Ct scan of chest with contrast 135 $48 $821
Measurement of immunoglobulin light chains 128 $17 $60
CT scan of abdomen and pelvis with contrast 118 $170 $1,067
Office visit, established patient (30-39 min) 112 $96 $368
Administration of additional new drug or substance into vein, 1 hour or less 109 $50 $344
Administration of non-hormonal anti-neoplastic chemotherapy under skin or into muscle 108 $55 $211
Injection, zoledronic acid, 1 mg 108 $7 $431
Radiation treatment delivery,3 or more separate treatment areas, custom blocking, tangential ports, wedges, rotational beam, compensators, electron beam; 11-19 mev 94 $182 $700
Red blood count automated, with additional calculations 89 $5 $26
Administration of chemotherapy into vein, each additional hour 87 $22 $161
Drug injection, under skin or into muscle 86 $11 $96
Injection, diphenhydramine hcl, up to 50 mg 72 $1 $7
Ferritin level test (iron stores) 71 $13 $60
Iron level test 71 $6 $27
Iron binding capacity test 71 $9 $35
Infusion into a vein for therapy, prevention, or diagnosis, 1 hour or less 70 $49 $313
New patient office visit (45-59 min) 70 $122 $565
Leuprolide acetate (for depot suspension), 7.5 mg 62 $134 $3,675
New patient office visit, complex (60-74 min) 55 $154 $709
Microscopic examination for white blood cells with manual cell count 44 $4 $22
Complete blood count (CBC), automated 44 $6 $34
Reticulated (young) platelet measurement 44 $35 $143
Unclassified drugs 44 $1 $8
CT scan of chest, without contrast 43 $48 $686
Administration of hormonal anti-neoplastic chemotherapy under skin or into muscle 41 $26 $145
Lactate dehydrogenase (enzyme) level 40 $6 $31
Infusion, normal saline solution , 1000 cc 37 $2 $19
Administration of additional new drug or substance into vein using push technique 35 $43 $289
Irrigation of implanted venous access drug delivery device 35 $17 $114
Injection of additional new drug or substance into vein 34 $12 $108
Basic metabolic blood panel 32 $8 $49
Infusion into a vein for therapy, prevention, or diagnosis, each additional hour 32 $16 $100
New patient office visit (30-44 min) 26 $74 $372
Chemotherapy administration, intravenous infusion technique; initiation of infusion in the office/clinic setting using office/clinic pump/supplies, with continuation of the infusion in the community setting (e.g., home, domiciliary, rest home or assisted l 25 $122 $500
Vitamin B-12 level test 22 $15 $76
Folic acid level test 22 $14 $73
Ct scan of abdomen and pelvis without contrast 21 $83 $560
Ct scan of soft tissue of neck with contrast 17 $75 $658
Haptoglobin (serum protein) level 17 $12 $66
Flow cytometry technique for dna or cell analysis, first marker 15 $54 $298
Office visit, established patient, complex (40-54 min) 13 $140 $496
Protein measurement, serum 12 $11 $97
Immunologic analysis technique on serum (immunofixation) 11 $22 $160
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.
1.0% high complexity
90.5% medium
8.5% routine

Industry Payment Transparency

Open Payments through 2024 ↗
$332
Total received (2018-2024)
Avg $55/year across 6 years
Bottom 16% in TX for hematology & oncology
9
Companies
11
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
$298 (89.7%)
Speaking / Promotional
Speaker programs, honoraria, and industry-sponsored educational events
$34 (10.3%)

Payment trend by year

Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

2024
$20
2023
$108
2022
$14
2021
$29
2019
$15
2018
$144

Payments by company (2024)

Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
Sirtex Medical Inc
$115
E.R. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.
$97
Celgene Corporation
$35
GlaxoSmithKline, LLC.
$18
Amgen Inc.
$16
EMD Serono, Inc.
$15
Seattle Genetics, Inc.
$12
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corporation
$11
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
$11
Top 3 companies account for 74.6% of total payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
ADCETRIS · BLENREP · Bavencio · KEYTRUDA · Kyprolis · LYNPARZA · ONUREG · OPDIVO · REBLOZYL · SIR-Spheres Microspheres
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 (90%) are for meals and travel — low-value interactions that are common across virtually all practicing physicians.

Equivalent to $1 per 100 Medicare services performed
Looking for a hematology & oncology specialist in New Braunfels?
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Geographic Context

Hematology & oncology specialists within 10 mi
9
Per 100K population
5.0
County median income
$93,776
Nearest hospital
RESOLUTE HEALTH HOSPITAL
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. Braden is a mixed practice specialist, with above-average Medicare volume (top 18% in TX), with low-engagement industry engagement, 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. Braden experienced with contrast dye for imaging (iodine-based)?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Braden performed 13,808 contrast dye for imaging (iodine-based) 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. Braden receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Braden received a total of $332 from 9 companies across 11 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. Braden's costs compare to other hematology & oncology specialists in New Braunfels?
Dr. Braden's average Medicare payment per service is $15. 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. Braden) 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 →