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Methodology

Methodology

Last reviewed: 2026-04-17. Data vintage: NPPES weekly snapshot 2026-04; Open Payments PY2023; Medicare Provider Utilization CY2022; PECOS 2026-04.

What Is DocTransparency?

DocTransparency is an independent journalism project that aggregates publicly available federal healthcare data and presents it in a single, readable profile for physicians in the states we currently cover. Our goal is to make information that already exists — scattered across multiple government databases — easy to find and understand for patients, journalists, and researchers. We are expanding coverage state by state; currently: Texas and Florida.

DocTransparency is operated by Yoel Castaño as a sole proprietorship, pending formation of a US legal entity. We accept no funding from healthcare industry stakeholders, insurers, or pharmaceutical or medical device companies.

We do not generate or create any data. Everything on this site comes directly from federal sources published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

All data is published by the federal government as a matter of statutory mandate (Physician Payments Sunshine Act, §6002 of the Affordable Care Act, 42 U.S.C. §1320a-7h; HITECH Act provisions establishing the NPPES public registry) and is reproduced here under principles of newsgathering and public-interest journalism, including protections recognized in Bartnicki v. Vopper, 532 U.S. 514 (2001).

Important Notice

DocTransparency is for informational and journalistic purposes only. Nothing on this site is medical advice, a recommendation to choose or avoid any provider, an endorsement, or a quality rating. We do not establish a doctor-patient relationship. Always consult a licensed healthcare professional for medical decisions and verify all information with the provider directly before acting on it.

Data Sources

We draw from four distinct CMS datasets:

NPPES (National Plan and Provider Enumeration System) — The authoritative registry of all healthcare providers in the US. Contains provider names, credentials, specialties, practice addresses, and NPI numbers. Updated weekly by CMS; our snapshot dated 2026-04. Our database includes the full national registry; profile pages are currently generated for Texas and Florida. Download data.

Open Payments — CMS's implementation of the Physician Payments Sunshine Act. Records all financial transfers from pharmaceutical and medical device companies to physicians and teaching hospitals. Payment records are self-reported by pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers under federal mandate; CMS provides a 45-day physician dispute window before publication, but does not independently audit each transaction. Published annually, covering the prior calendar year. Most recent year displayed: PY2023. Explore data.

Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data — Annual data showing which procedures Medicare providers performed, how many times, and what Medicare paid. Covers Part B (outpatient/physician services). Published with approximately a two-year lag; most recent year displayed: CY2022.

PECOS (Provider Enrollment & Certification System) — Tracks which providers are enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid programs and their enrollment status.

The Transparency Score

The Transparency Score (0–100) measures data completeness, not quality of care. A higher score means more federal data exists for that provider across our four sources — it does not mean the provider is better or worse, more competent, or more recommendable. A score of 100 means we found data in all four datasets; a score of 25 means we found data in only one.

The score is calculated as: (datasets with data present ÷ 4) × 100, with up to 5 additional points per dataset awarded for field completeness within that dataset (e.g. presence of payments breakdown, multiple procedure codes, or complete address). The full formula is published in our open-source repository.

What the Data Covers and Doesn't Cover

This data covers Medicare patients only (generally age 65+ or patients with qualifying disabilities). It does not reflect a provider's full patient population, private insurance activity, Medicaid patients, or cash-pay patients. Providers who primarily treat younger or privately insured patients will appear to have lower Medicare volumes — this does not reflect their actual caseload, expertise, or patient outcomes.

Limitations

  • Medicare utilization data is published with approximately a two-year lag
  • Open Payments data covers calendar-year reporting periods; the most recent full year available is typically two years prior
  • Open Payments records are self-reported by manufacturers; we do not independently verify them
  • Suppressed records: CMS suppresses procedure counts below 11 to protect patient privacy
  • Provider addresses in NPPES reflect the address on file at registration and may be outdated; out-of-date addresses are common
  • Industry payments are legal under federal law and do not, by themselves, imply improper influence or wrongdoing

Update Frequency

We refresh our data pipeline when CMS releases new annual datasets, typically in the second quarter of each year for the prior program year. NPPES is refreshed at least monthly. Each profile page displays the date of its underlying data snapshot.

Corrections and Removal Requests

If you are a provider and believe information on your profile is inaccurate, contact [email protected] with your NPI and the specific data point in question. We respond within 5 business days.

Because our data is sourced verbatim from CMS public records, corrections to the underlying data must also be filed with CMS (NPPES corrections via the NPI Registry; Open Payments disputes via the Open Payments physician portal). We will annotate or suppress on a case-by-case basis pending CMS update. Right-to-be-forgotten / opt-out requests are evaluated under our Privacy Policy.

Editorial responsibility: Methodology authored and maintained by Yoel Castaño, founder, DocTransparency. Questions: [email protected]. Last reviewed 2026-04-17.

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 →