CHRISTOPHER NICHOLAS, MD appears in the CMS NPPES registry as a Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician provider holding MD credentials at 1223 S GEAR AVE, WEST BURLINGTON, IA, 52655, with a listed phone of (319) 768-4350. NPI 1316037195 was issued on 10/13/2006. Because NPPES data is self-reported by the provider and refreshed monthly, the address, phone, and specialty reflect what NICHOLAS most recently submitted to CMS rather than a vetted directory listing, which is why patients should always confirm the practice is still at this location before scheduling.

Medicare Part D records for calendar year 2023 show 863 prescription claims written by this provider, covering 450 Medicare beneficiaries and totaling roughly $41K in drug spend, split 15% brand-name and 85% generic by claim count, with an opioid prescribing rate of 7.4%. These figures capture only Medicare Part D — commercial insurance, Medicaid, and cash-pay prescriptions are not included, and any drug-beneficiary cell under 11 is suppressed by CMS for patient privacy. On the CMS Merit-based Incentive Payment System, this provider earned a Final Score of 77.8186/100 for the 2023 performance year (Quality 67.6256, Cost 58.4365), compared with the national average of 83.1.

Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician is a mid-sized specialty nationwide, with 5,062 enrolled providers across 52 states and an average of 128 Part D claims per prescriber, so the context for interpreting these metrics differs meaningfully from a primary-care baseline. Important: PlainDoctor is a directory of publicly available government data, not medical advice, a malpractice database, or a quality rating. Inclusion here does not imply a recommendation, and absence of complaints or sanctions on this page does not mean none exist — always verify credentials through the NPPES NPI Registry, your state medical board, and the ABMS or AOA before making healthcare decisions.