NPI registry status
Active
2026 NPPES data Rheumatology Physician NPI 1548247448 MD
Verify on CMS → Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD
Rheumatology Physician in Sterling, Illinois.
This profile is drawn from the federal National Provider Identifier Registry (CMS NPPES), which lists more than 7 million U.S. healthcare providers - including 6,377 in Rheumatology Physician, and covers specialty classification, practice address, and Medicare Part D prescribing data when reported. According to CMS, every field reflects the provider's official federal registration, see our methodology.
Federal data, no proprietary rating.
We show these CMS records as-is - no composite score, no star rating, no editorial opinion layered on top.
Prescribing volume
4K
Medicare Part D claims · 573 beneficiaries · Rheumatology Physician avg: 2K
MIPS score
75/100
CMS neutral threshold · no category scores published
Industry payments
$143.81
5 payments · CMS Open Payments (Sunshine Act)
What the federal data shows
Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD carries the neutral CMS MIPS final score of 75/100, assigned where no category was scored - and filed 3,687 Medicare Part D claims in 2024.
- 75/100
- CMS neutral score · not measured
- 4K
- Part D claims, 2024
- Likely
- board-certified (heuristic)
- ≥90th
- pct by Part D claim volume (lower-bound band)
Every figure on this page comes straight from federal CMS records (NPPES, Medicare Part D, MIPS, Open Payments) - no proprietary rating or editorial opinion is applied.
Federal trust snapshot
What official records show about Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD
Federal records show an active NPI with Medicare Part D prescribing activity — verifiable registry data, not a proprietary rating.
- Verified
NPI registry status
Active listing in the CMS National Provider Identifier Registry (NPI 1548247448), first enumerated 12/30/2005.
Source: CMS NPPES
- Reported
Medicare Part D participation
Filed 3,687 Medicare Part D prescription claims in the 2023 CMS public use file — indicates active Medicare prescribing participation.
Source: CMS Part D Prescriber PUF
- Reported
CMS quality reporting (MIPS)
CMS assigned a neutral MIPS final score of 75/100 where no performance category was scored — not a measured quality rank.
Source: CMS Quality Payment Program
- Reported
Board certification signal
Heuristic suggests board-certified status based on ABMS-eligible specialty taxonomy plus active CMS participation signals — not a direct ABMS verification.
- Reported
Hospital affiliations
1 CMS Care Compare hospital affiliation on record — practice footprint from the Doctors and Clinicians file.
Source: CMS Care Compare
- Reported
Industry payment transparency
$143.81 in reported industry payments (5 transfers) in 2024 under the federal Sunshine Act — disclosed transfers of value, not a quality rating.
Source: CMS Open Payments
- State context
State board disciplinary context
Illinois statewide board action statistics are published annually — these figures describe aggregate state activity, not Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD's individual license status. Verify directly with the state medical board.
Source: IDFPR annual report 2023
- Not in federal data
Individual sanction lookup
PlainDoctor does not publish per-provider disciplinary determinations. Confirm current license and any individual actions through the state medical board or FSMB verification service.
Source: State medical board / FSMB
This trust snapshot summarizes only what appears in federal CMS/NPPES public records. It is not a composite score, star rating, patient review, or clinical recommendation. PlainDoctor never fabricates reviews or AggregateRating schema.
CMS NPPES provider registry desk
NPI 1548247448 · Rheumatology Physician
NPI-10 · ENUM-LEGACY · TAX-MID · MIPS-NEUTRAL · RX-MID · BOOK-THIN · PHOTO-ENUM
- NPI-10 1548247448
- ENUM-LEGACY 2005
- TAX-MID 6K Rheumatology Physician
- MIPS-NEUTRAL 75/100
- RX-MID 3,687
- BOOK-THIN 267 in Illinois
- PHOTO-ENUM Margarita Garces · 2005
Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD's Medicare Part D volume vs every U.S. prescriber
Total Medicare Part D claims, 2024, across all CMS prescribers nationally
3,687 ≥ 90th percentile 90% of 1,416,883 prescribers are in lower value bands
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more prescribers. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
The percentile is a conservative 100-claim band: it counts only prescribers in lower claim-volume bands. Medicare Part D claim volume is activity context, not a quality measure or recommendation. See methodology § corpus placement.
Source CMS Medicare Part D Prescriber Public Use File · 2024
✓
Board certification likely (heuristic, not verified)
Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD practices in an ABMS-board-eligible specialty and shows active CMS Medicare participation + MIPS quality reporting + 1 hospital affiliation - signals consistent with board-certified status. For verified board certification, see CertificationMatters.org (the official ABMS public lookup).
What does the federal data show about Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD?
CMS neutral score, not measuredPrimary specialty
Rheumatology Physician
Medicare Part D claims
3,687 79% vs specialty avg
MIPS final score
75/100
Specialty distribution in Illinois
How Rheumatology Physician compares to other specialties among Illinois providers
MIPS score not measured
CMS assigned a neutral 75/100 threshold
CMS did not publish any Quality, Cost, Promoting Interoperability, or Improvement Activities category score for this clinician. This administrative threshold is not comparable with the national average of clinicians whose MIPS score was measured.
How MIPS and board certification work
The Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) scores providers 0–100 across four performance categories: Quality, Cost, Promoting Interoperability, and Improvement Activities, weighted under 42 CFR §414.1380. Reporting is voluntary for many small practices, so absence of a MIPS score is not a quality signal.
Board certification through an ABMS or AOA member board signals voluntary post-licensure examination plus continuous Maintenance of Certification cycles. Verify any individual provider's status through certificationmatters.org (ABMS) or osteopathic.org (AOA).
Practice Address
Provider Details
| NPI | 1548247448 |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Rheumatology Physician |
| Credentials | MD |
| Gender | Male |
| NPI Issued | 12/30/2005 |
CMS Quality Score (MIPS)
Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) scores from CMS, 2023 performance year.
75
Final Score
CMS neutral threshold · not measured
Reporting: Group practice
Hospital and facility affiliations
Facilities where Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD bills Medicare from. Star ratings (1-5) are CMS Hospital Compare's "Hospital overall rating" - a composite of mortality, readmission, patient experience, safety, timely care, and efficient use of medical imaging measures. Source: CMS Care Compare.
Cgh Medical Center
★☆☆☆☆ 1/5
Sterling, IL
Acute Care Hospitals
CMS CCN: 140043
Affiliations sourced from CMS Doctors and Clinicians National Downloadable File; hospital ratings from CMS Hospital General Information dataset (cross-referenced by facility name + state).
Industry payments received (2024) - CMS Open Payments transparency data
The federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act (part of the Affordable Care Act) requires drug and medical-device manufacturers + group purchasing organizations to publicly report payments and other transfers of value to physicians and teaching hospitals. The data below covers 2024 for Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD. Source: openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Total received
$144
Largest payer
Janssen Biotech, Inc.
Most common payment type
Food and Beverage
Industry payments are not necessarily indicators of bias, they include research funding, consulting fees for evidence-based work, royalties for inventions, food at conferences, and similar items. The disclosure exists for transparency. Read our methodology for how we interpret this data.
License & disciplinary context - Illinois IDFPR 2023 annual report
Aggregate state board data only, NOT a determination of any individual provider's status. The figures below describe statewide disciplinary activity across all ~42K Illinois medical licensees in 2023 - they are NOT specific to Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD. To verify Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD's current license status, search the IDFPR public license lookup directly, or check the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) verification service.
106
Total board actions, Illinois 2023
Across 103 cases
2.52
Actions per 1,000 licensees
Illinois statewide rate
probation
Most common action type
38 cases
IDFPR publishes annual disciplinary statistics as part of public-record reporting under each state's Administrative Procedure Act. See the full breakdown by action type and year on the Illinois disciplinary trends page. Cross-checked against FSMB U.S. Medical Regulatory Trends.
Medicare Part D Prescribing Data
CMS Medicare Part D prescriber-level data for calendar year 2024.
3,687
Total Claims
$2.0M
Total Drug Cost
573
Medicare Beneficiaries
Prescribing Breakdown
- 30-Day Fills
- 5,844.233
- Total Day Supply
- 170,834
- Generic Drug Cost
- $70K
- Opioid Claims
- 549 (14.9% rate)
- Antibiotic Claims
- 14
Patient Demographics
- Average Patient Age
- 72.6 years
- Avg HCC Risk Score
- 1.38
- Gender Split
- 73% female / 27% male
- Age Distribution
- <65: 74, 65-74: 257, 75-84: 198, 85+: 44
Top Prescribed Drugs (Medicare Part D)
Top drugs by claim count for calendar year 2024. Based on Medicare Part D data only.
What Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD prescribes most
Top Medicare Part D drugs by claim count, 2024
- Prednisone
Prednisone
569 claims
- Methotrexate
Methotrexate
474 claims
- Tramadol Hcl
Tramadol Hcl
276 claims
- Celecoxib
Celecoxib
259 claims
- Meloxicam
Meloxicam
254 claims
- Hydroxychloroquine…
Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate
239 claims
- Hydrocodone-Acetam… 193
Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen
193 claims
- Gabapentin 188
Gabapentin
188 claims
| Drug | Claims |
|---|---|
| Prednisone | 569 |
| Methotrexate Methotrexate Sodium | 474 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 276 |
| Celecoxib | 259 |
| Meloxicam | 254 |
| Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate | 239 |
| Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 193 |
| Gabapentin | 188 |
| Alendronate Sodium | 107 |
| Allopurinol | 85 |
* Counts below 11 are suppressed by CMS for patient privacy. Generic names shown where available from CMS Part D data.
Rheumatology Physician Overview
How Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD fits within the Rheumatology Physician landscape nationally.
6,377
Rheumatology Physician Providers in US
52
States with Rheumatology Physician
2,058
Avg Claims per Provider
Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD's 3,687 claims are above the specialty average of 2,058.
Nationwide Rheumatology Physician peers with similar MIPS or enrollment year
Two federal-record peer sets for Buddaraju, both outside Illinois so the neighborhoods are not geographic containment.
Similar MIPS final score
Nearest same-specialty clinicians by CMS MIPS final score (75 here).
Same NPPES enumeration year (2005)
Same-specialty clinicians who entered the NPI registry in the same calendar year, outside this state.
Nearby Rheumatology Physician Providers in Illinois
Other clinicians with the same primary specialty enrolled in Illinois, drawn from the same CMS NPPES roster as Buddaraju.
One of 267 Rheumatology Physician providers enrolled in Illinois, 5 are shown here.
Dr. Elaine Adams
MD
Maywood, IL
Dr. Emem Adolf-Ubokudom
M.D.
Chicago, IL
Dr. Shri Agrawal
M.D.
Chicago, IL
Dr. Umber Ahmad
DO
McHenry, IL
Saba Ahmed
Chicago, IL
Compare Rheumatology Physician nationally: see state-by-state distribution →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD's specialty? ▼
Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD specializes in Rheumatology Physician and practices in Sterling, Illinois. Credentials: MD.
How much does Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD prescribe under Medicare Part D? ▼
In 2024, Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD wrote 3,687 Medicare Part D claims totaling $2.0M in drug costs for 573 beneficiaries.
What is Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD's Medicare quality score? ▼
Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD has a CMS MIPS Final Score of 75/100. CMS published no Quality, Promoting Interoperability, Improvement Activity or Cost score for this clinician, so the final score is the neutral performance threshold CMS assigns rather than a measured result. The average MIPS Final Score across the 454,083 clinicians with at least one published category score is 83.5; clinicians whose score CMS assigned without scoring any category are excluded from that average. Source: CMS Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) 2023.
Where is Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD located? ▼
Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD is located at 101 E MILLER RD, Sterling, IL, 61081. Phone: (815) 625-4790.
What is Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD's NPI number? ▼
Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD's National Provider Identifier (NPI) is 1548247448, issued on 12/30/2005.
Does Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD prescribe opioids? ▼
Yes, Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD had 549 opioid claims in 2024 with an opioid prescribing rate of 14.9%.
How many Rheumatology Physician providers are there in the US? ▼
There are 6,377 Rheumatology Physician providers across 52 states in the US. The average Rheumatology Physician provider writes 2,058 Medicare Part D claims per year.
What drugs does Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD prescribe most often? ▼
Based on 2024 Medicare Part D data, Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD's most frequently prescribed drugs include Prednisone, Methotrexate, Tramadol Hcl. This reflects Medicare Part D prescriptions only and does not include commercial insurance or other payer types.
Does Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD accept Medicare? ▼
Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD appears in CMS Medicare data with 3,687 Part D claims and 573 Medicare beneficiaries in 2024. Contact the provider's office directly to confirm current Medicare enrollment and accepted plans.
How can I verify Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD's credentials? ▼
Ajay Kumar Buddaraju, MD's NPI is 1548247448 with credentials MD. You can verify this through the NPPES NPI Registry, check state medical board records, and confirm board certification through the ABMS or AOA.
Data Sources
View source datasets and methodology notes
- Provider Directory
- CMS National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), download.cms.gov/nppes, updated monthly. Contains NPI, specialty, credentials, and practice location.
- Specialty Classification
- NUCC Health Care Provider Taxonomy (nucc.org), the industry standard for classifying provider specialties in Medicare and Medicaid billing.
- Prescribing Data
- CMS Medicare Part D Prescriber Public Use File (2024). Includes claims, drug costs, beneficiaries, and opioid prescribing rates.
- Quality Performance
- CMS Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) - 2023 performance year.
- Limitations
- Provider data is self-reported to CMS. Prescribing data reflects Medicare Part D only and does not include commercial insurance, Medicaid, or cash prescriptions. Claims below 11 beneficiaries are suppressed by CMS for privacy.
See our complete data methodology for details on how we collect and process government data.
Data as of August 2026 (NPPES) / 2024 (Medicare Part D). Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Disclaimer: Data from CMS NPPES and Medicare Part D. PlainDoctor does not rate or rank providers. Provider information is self-reported and may not be current. Always verify information directly with the provider. About · Methodology
Every figure on PlainDoctor is rendered directly from the federal CMS NPPES registry, Medicare Part D, MIPS, and Open Payments records, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.