Medicare Enrolled

Dr. Sarah Merritt, PA-C

Physician Assistant · San Antonio, TX
Practice pattern: Clinical Cardiology — Primarily office-based clinical cardiology
Consulting-driven
4502 MEDICAL DR, San Antonio, TX 78229
2103582078
In practice since 2013 (12 years)
NPI: 1225470560 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. Merritt 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. Merritt? Request a correction or review of any data shown here. Provider portal →

What this data tells you about Dr. Merritt

Dr. Sarah Merritt is a physician assistant in San Antonio, TX, with 12 years of NPI registration. Based on federal Medicare data, Dr. Merritt performed 733 Medicare services across 648 unique beneficiaries.

Between the years covered by Open Payments, Dr. Merritt received a total of $44,213 from 13 pharmaceutical and/or device companies across 612 individual payments. These payments are legal, publicly disclosed under the federal Sunshine Act, and common in physician assistant. The majority of payments are for consulting, which typically reflects recognized clinical expertise sought by manufacturers. Patients may wish to discuss these relationships with their provider.

The Data Coverage level for Dr. Merritt 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.

✓ 12 years in practice ▲ Top 18% volume in TX $44,213 industry payments

Medicare Practice Summary

Medicare Utilization ↗
733
Medicare services
Top 18% in TX for physician assistant
648
Unique beneficiaries
$62
Avg. Medicare payment
Medicare patients only (65+ / disabled) · Not a quality rating · How to read this →
~61 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
New patient office visit (30-44 min) 117 $69 $180
Office visit, established patient (20-29 min) 117 $55 $145
Insertion of spinal neurostimulator generator or receiver 76 $35 $625
Partial removal of spine bone with release of lower spinal cord and/or nerves, 1 segment 73 $107 $1,250
Fusion of additional segment of spine 51 $40 $375
Telephone medical discussion with physician, 11-20 minutes 50 $52 $135
Insertion of cage or mesh device to spine bone and disc space during spine fusion 44 $26 $500
Office visit, established patient (30-39 min) 43 $77 $195
New patient office visit (45-59 min) 42 $100 $250
Partial removal of spine bone with release of spinal cord and/or nerves, each additional segment 33 $21 $375
Telephone medical discussion with physician, 5-10 minutes 22 $33 $85
Placement of stabilizing device to back of 1 spine bone in neck 20 $74 $1,375
Fusion of spine in lower back with partial removal of spine bone and disc 17 $185 $1,250
Partial removal of bone of single segment of spine in lower back with release of spinal cord and/or nerves during fusion of spine in lower back 17 $26 $1,250
Office visit, established patient (10-19 min) 11 $37 $95
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.
17.6% high complexity
0.0% medium
82.4% routine

Industry Payment Transparency

Open Payments through 2024 ↗
$44,213
Total received (2021-2024)
Avg $11,053/year across 4 years
Top 0% in TX for physician assistant
13
Companies
612
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.

Consulting
Expert advisory fees, typically reflecting recognized clinical expertise
$37,103 (83.9%)
Meals & Travel
Food, beverages, travel, and lodging — typically low-value
$7,110 (16.1%)

Payment trend by year

Annual totals from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

2024
$15,357
2023
$16,496
2022
$6,061
2021
$6,299

Payments by company (2024)

Consulting
Speaking
Meals & Travel
Research
SI-BONE, INC.
$33,023
SI-BONE, Inc.
$4,080
Medtronic, Inc.
$2,217
Boston Scientific Corporation
$2,183
Abbott Laboratories
$1,665
BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION
$387
Nevro Corp.
$348
Intrinsic Therapeutics
$148
SPR Therapeutics, Inc
$79
Stryker Corporation
$36
AbbVie Inc.
$21
Heron Therapeutics, Inc.
$14
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
$12
Top 3 companies account for 88.9% of total payments
Associated products mentioned in payments ›
ADHERUS AUTOSPRAY DURAL SEALANT · Absolute Pro vascular stent system · Andexxa · BARRICAID ACD (ANNULAR CLOSURE DEVICE) · ETERNA · GENERAL PAIN MANAGEMENT · General - Pain Management · General - Therapies · IFUSE IMPLANT · IFUSE IMPLANT SYSTEM · INTELLIS · INTELLIS ADAPTIVESTIM · LAMITRODE · Omnia · PROCLAIM · Proclaim DRG IPG · Proclaim IPG · SPECTRA WAVEWRITER · SPRINT PNS System · Spectra WaveWriter · Superion Indirect Decompression System · UBRELVY · VANTA ADAPTIVESTIM · WAVEWRITER ALPHA · WaveWriter Alpha Prime 16 · ZYNRELEF
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 →

The majority of payments (84%) are consulting fees, which typically reflect recognized clinical expertise sought by manufacturers. Total industry engagement is in the top 0% for physician assistant in TX.

Equivalent to $6,032 per 100 Medicare services performed
Looking for a physician assistant in San Antonio?
Compare physician assistants in the San Antonio area by procedure volume, costs, and industry payment transparency.
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Geographic Context

Physician assistants within 10 mi
1,056
Per 100K population
51.8
County median income
$70,571
Nearest hospital
UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM
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. Merritt is a clinical cardiology specialist, with above-average Medicare volume (top 18% in TX), with consulting-driven industry engagement in the top 0% of TX peers.

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. Merritt experienced with new patient office visit (30-44 min)?
Based on Medicare claims data, Dr. Merritt performed 117 new patient office visit (30-44 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. Merritt receive payments from pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Dr. Merritt received a total of $44,213 from 13 companies across 612 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. Merritt's costs compare to other physician assistants in San Antonio?
Dr. Merritt's average Medicare payment per service is $62. 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. Merritt) 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 →