NPI registry status
Active
2026 NPPES data Orthopaedic Surgery Physician NPI 1366434078 MD
Verify on CMS → Christopher Palmer, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery Physician in Dubuque, Iowa.
This profile is drawn from the federal National Provider Identifier Registry (CMS NPPES), which lists more than 7 million U.S. healthcare providers - including 26,109 in Orthopaedic Surgery 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
554
Medicare Part D claims · 317 beneficiaries · Orthopaedic Surgery Physician avg: 344
Industry payments
$139.81
3 payments · CMS Open Payments (Sunshine Act)
What the federal data shows
Christopher Palmer, MD filed 554 Medicare Part D claims in 2024 as an Orthopaedic Surgery Physician in Dubuque, Iowa.
- 554
- Part D claims, 2024
- Likely
- board-certified (heuristic)
- ≥65th
- 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 Christopher Palmer, 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 1366434078), first enumerated 08/18/2005.
Source: CMS NPPES
- Reported
Medicare Part D participation
Filed 554 Medicare Part D prescription claims in the 2023 CMS public use file — indicates active Medicare prescribing participation.
Source: CMS Part D Prescriber PUF
- 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
2 CMS Care Compare hospital affiliations on record — practice footprint from the Doctors and Clinicians file.
Source: CMS Care Compare
- Reported
Industry payment transparency
$139.81 in reported industry payments (3 transfers) in 2024 under the federal Sunshine Act — disclosed transfers of value, not a quality rating.
Source: CMS Open Payments
- 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 1366434078 · Orthopaedic Surgery Physician
NPI-10 · ENUM-LEGACY · TAX-MID · RX-LIGHT · BOOK-THIN · PHOTO-ENUM
- NPI-10 1366434078
- ENUM-LEGACY 2005
- TAX-MID 26K Orthopaedic Surgery
- RX-LIGHT 554
- BOOK-THIN 286 in Iowa
- PHOTO-ENUM Patrick McDaid, MD · 2005
Christopher Palmer, MD's Medicare Part D volume vs every U.S. prescriber
Total Medicare Part D claims, 2024, across all CMS prescribers nationally
554 ≥ 65th percentile 65% 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)
Christopher Palmer, MD practices in an ABMS-board-eligible specialty and shows active CMS Medicare participation + 2 hospital affiliations - 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 Christopher Palmer, MD?
Quality data not reportedPrimary specialty
Orthopaedic Surgery Physician
Medicare Part D claims
554 61% vs specialty avg
Specialty distribution in Iowa
How Orthopaedic Surgery Physician compares to other specialties among Iowa providers
Board certification
Not published by CMS
CMS does not publish a per-provider board-certification field in NPPES. PlainDoctor does not have a reliable per-specialty certification rate to show for Orthopaedic Surgery Physician. Verify directly:
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 | 1366434078 |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Orthopaedic Surgery Physician |
| Credentials | MD |
| Gender | Male |
| NPI Issued | 08/18/2005 |
Hospital and facility affiliations
Facilities where Christopher Palmer, 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.
Ochsner Clinic LLC
New Orleans, LA
Ochsner Mississippi, LLC
Bay Saint Louis, MS
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 Christopher Palmer, MD. Source: openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Total received
$140
Largest payer
Stryker Corporation
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.
Medicare Part D Prescribing Data
CMS Medicare Part D prescriber-level data for calendar year 2024.
554
Total Claims
$2K
Total Drug Cost
317
Medicare Beneficiaries
Prescribing Breakdown
- 30-Day Fills
- 581.667
- Total Day Supply
- 14,200
- Generic Drug Cost
- $2K
- Opioid Claims
- 91 (16.4% rate)
- Antibiotic Claims
- 12
Patient Demographics
- Average Patient Age
- 68.8 years
- Avg HCC Risk Score
- 1.06
- Gender Split
- 60% female / 40% male
- Age Distribution
- <65: 69, 65-74: 171, 75-84: N/A, 85+: N/A
Top Prescribed Drugs (Medicare Part D)
Top drugs by claim count for calendar year 2024. Based on Medicare Part D data only.
What Christopher Palmer, MD prescribes most
Top Medicare Part D drugs by claim count, 2024
- Meloxicam
Meloxicam
342 claims
- Hydrocodone-Acetam… 74
Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen
74 claims
- Celecoxib 63
Celecoxib
63 claims
- Methylprednisolone 20
Methylprednisolone
20 claims
- Tramadol Hcl 13
Tramadol Hcl
13 claims
| Drug | Claims |
|---|---|
| Meloxicam | 342 |
| Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 74 |
| Celecoxib | 63 |
| Methylprednisolone | 20 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 13 |
* Counts below 11 are suppressed by CMS for patient privacy. Generic names shown where available from CMS Part D data.
Orthopaedic Surgery Physician Overview
How Christopher Palmer, MD fits within the Orthopaedic Surgery Physician landscape nationally.
26,109
Orthopaedic Surgery Physician Providers in US
56
States with Orthopaedic Surgery Physician
344
Avg Claims per Provider
Christopher Palmer, MD's 554 claims are above the specialty average of 344.
Nationwide Orthopaedic Surgery Physician peers with similar MIPS or enrollment year
Two federal-record peer sets for Palmer, both outside Iowa so the neighborhoods are not geographic containment.
Same NPPES enumeration year (2005)
Same-specialty clinicians who entered the NPI registry in the same calendar year, outside this state.
Nearby Orthopaedic Surgery Physician Providers in Iowa
Other clinicians with the same primary specialty enrolled in Iowa, drawn from the same CMS NPPES roster as Palmer.
One of 286 Orthopaedic Surgery Physician providers enrolled in Iowa, 5 are shown here.
Dr. Roy Abraham
M.D.
Council Bluffs, IA
Dr. Stephen Ash
M.D.
Des Moines, IA
Dr. Thomas Atteberry
M.D.
Council Bluffs, IA
Dr. Steven Aviles
MD
Des Moines, IA
Dr. Jeffrey Bannister
DO
Ankeny, IA
Compare Orthopaedic Surgery Physician nationally: see state-by-state distribution →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Christopher Palmer, MD's specialty? ▼
Christopher Palmer, MD specializes in Orthopaedic Surgery Physician and practices in Dubuque, Iowa. Credentials: MD.
How much does Christopher Palmer, MD prescribe under Medicare Part D? ▼
In 2024, Christopher Palmer, MD wrote 554 Medicare Part D claims totaling $2K in drug costs for 317 beneficiaries.
Where is Christopher Palmer, MD located? ▼
Christopher Palmer, MD is located at 4005 WESTMARK DR, Dubuque, IA, 52002. Phone: (563) 582-6202.
What is Christopher Palmer, MD's NPI number? ▼
Christopher Palmer, MD's National Provider Identifier (NPI) is 1366434078, issued on 08/18/2005.
Does Christopher Palmer, MD prescribe opioids? ▼
Yes, Christopher Palmer, MD had 91 opioid claims in 2024 with an opioid prescribing rate of 16.4%.
How many Orthopaedic Surgery Physician providers are there in the US? ▼
There are 26,109 Orthopaedic Surgery Physician providers across 56 states in the US. The average Orthopaedic Surgery Physician provider writes 344 Medicare Part D claims per year.
What drugs does Christopher Palmer, MD prescribe most often? ▼
Based on 2024 Medicare Part D data, Christopher Palmer, MD's most frequently prescribed drugs include Meloxicam, Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen, Celecoxib. This reflects Medicare Part D prescriptions only and does not include commercial insurance or other payer types.
Does Christopher Palmer, MD accept Medicare? ▼
Christopher Palmer, MD appears in CMS Medicare data with 554 Part D claims and 317 Medicare beneficiaries in 2024. Contact the provider's office directly to confirm current Medicare enrollment and accepted plans.
How can I verify Christopher Palmer, MD's credentials? ▼
Christopher Palmer, MD's NPI is 1366434078 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.
- 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.