Dr. Ricardo Alvarado, MD
What this data tells you about Dr. Alvarado
Dr. Ricardo Alvarado is a pain medicine in San Antonio, TX, with 18 years in practice. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Alvarado performed 6,621 Medicare services across 1,609 unique beneficiaries.
Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Alvarado received a total of $24,595 from 22 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 440 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in pain 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. Alvarado 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Injection of additional new drug or substance into vein | 824 | $12 | $55 |
| Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of established patient that may not require presence of healthcare professional | 694 | $17 | $79 |
| Anti-nausea injection (ondansetron/Zofran) | 632 | $0 | $7 |
| Care management services for behavioral health conditions, 20 minutes or more clinical staff time directed by health care professional | 502 | $32 | $139 |
| Evaluation of psychological test, first hour | 460 | $87 | $377 |
| Office visit, established patient (30-39 min) | 428 | $94 | $402 |
| Drug screening test | 387 | $61 | $193 |
| Drug test(s), definitive, utilizing (1) drug identification methods able to identify individual drugs and distinguish between structural isomers (but not necessarily stereoisomers), including, but not limited to gc/ms (any type, single or tandem) and lc/ms | 385 | $241 | $748 |
| Infusion into a vein for therapy, prevention, or diagnosis, each additional hour | 381 | $15 | $70 |
| Dexamethasone injection (steroid) | 250 | $0 | $10 |
| Unclassified drugs | 222 | $3 | $2,210 |
| Infusion into a vein for therapy, prevention, or diagnosis, 1 hour or less | 201 | $33 | $205 |
| Electrocardiogram (ecg) 1 to 3 leads | 190 | $4 | $26 |
| Infusion, normal saline solution, sterile (500 ml = 1 unit) | 172 | $1 | $11 |
| Office visit, established patient (20-29 min) | 163 | $66 | $285 |
| Injection, ketorolac tromethamine, per 15 mg | 135 | $0 | $9 |
| Insertion of needle into vein (3 years or older) | 134 | $13 | $61 |
| New patient office visit (30-44 min) | 119 | $84 | $354 |
| Injection, methylprednisolone sodium succinate, up to 125 mg | 85 | $4 | $26 |
| Drug injection, under skin or into muscle | 81 | $10 | $51 |
| Office visit, established patient, complex (40-54 min) | 63 | $136 | $560 |
| Ultrasonic guidance for needle placement | 45 | $45 | $188 |
| Injection of anesthetic and/or steroid drug into sacral spine nerve root using imaging guidance, single level | 30 | $102 | $797 |
| Ultrasound study of arm and leg arteries | 22 | $60 | $262 |
| X-ray of lower and sacral spine, 2-3 views | 16 | $8 | $131 |
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 (93%) are for meals and travel — low-value interactions that are common across virtually all practicing physicians. Total industry engagement is in the top 7% for pain medicine in TX.
Geographic Context
3.1 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. Alvarado is a clinical cardiology specialist, with above-average Medicare volume (top 14% in TX), and high industry engagement (low-engagement, top 7%), 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
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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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