NPI registry status
Active
2026 NPPES data Surgical Physician Assistant NPI 1982601316 PA-C
Verify on CMS → Christopher Welch, PA-C
Surgical Physician Assistant in Merriam, Kansas.
This profile is drawn from the federal National Provider Identifier Registry (CMS NPPES), which lists more than 7 million U.S. healthcare providers - including 16,380 in Surgical Physician Assistant, 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
53
Medicare Part D claims · 45 beneficiaries · Surgical Physician Assistant avg: 341
Industry payments
$309.6
5 payments · CMS Open Payments (Sunshine Act)
What the federal data shows
Christopher Welch, PA-C filed 53 Medicare Part D claims in 2024 as a Surgical Physician Assistant in Merriam, Kansas.
- 53
- Part D claims, 2024
- $309.6
- industry payments (Sunshine Act)
- ≥0th
- 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 Welch, PA-C
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 1982601316), first enumerated 06/30/2005.
Source: CMS NPPES
- Reported
Medicare Part D participation
Filed 53 Medicare Part D prescription claims in the 2023 CMS public use file — indicates active Medicare prescribing participation.
Source: CMS Part D Prescriber PUF
- Reported
Industry payment transparency
$309.6 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
- 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 1982601316 · Surgical Physician Assistant
NPI-10 · ENUM-LEGACY · TAX-MID · RX-TRACE · BOOK-THIN · PHOTO-ENUM
- NPI-10 1982601316
- ENUM-LEGACY 2005
- TAX-MID 16K Surgical Physician
- RX-TRACE 53
- BOOK-THIN 106 in Kansas
- PHOTO-ENUM Kathryn Reaney · 2005
Christopher Welch, PA-C's Medicare Part D volume vs every U.S. prescriber
Total Medicare Part D claims, 2024, across all CMS prescribers nationally
53 ≥ 0th percentile 0% 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
What does the federal data show about Christopher Welch, PA-C?
Quality data not reportedPrimary specialty
Surgical Physician Assistant
Medicare Part D claims
53 84% vs specialty avg
Specialty distribution in Kansas
How Surgical Physician Assistant compares to other specialties among Kansas 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 Surgical Physician Assistant. 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 | 1982601316 |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Surgical Physician Assistant |
| Credentials | PA-C |
| Gender | Male |
| NPI Issued | 06/30/2005 |
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 Welch, PA-C. Source: openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Total received
$310
Largest payer
Smith+Nephew, 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.
Medicare Part D Prescribing Data
CMS Medicare Part D prescriber-level data for calendar year 2024.
53
Total Claims
$6K
Total Drug Cost
45
Medicare Beneficiaries
Prescribing Breakdown
- 30-Day Fills
- 71.6
- Total Day Supply
- 1,138
- Generic Drug Cost
- $180
- Opioid Claims
- 23 (43.4% rate)
Patient Demographics
- Average Patient Age
- 74.5 years
- Avg HCC Risk Score
- 1.12
- Gender Split
- 64% female / 36% male
Top Prescribed Drugs (Medicare Part D)
Top drugs by claim count for calendar year 2024. Based on Medicare Part D data only.
| Drug | Claims |
|---|---|
| Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 12 |
* Counts below 11 are suppressed by CMS for patient privacy. Generic names shown where available from CMS Part D data.
Surgical Physician Assistant Overview
How Christopher Welch, PA-C fits within the Surgical Physician Assistant landscape nationally.
16,380
Surgical Physician Assistant Providers in US
54
States with Surgical Physician Assistant
341
Avg Claims per Provider
Christopher Welch, PA-C's 53 claims are below the specialty average of 341.
Nationwide Surgical Physician Assistant peers with similar MIPS or enrollment year
Two federal-record peer sets for Welch, both outside Kansas 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 Surgical Physician Assistant Providers in Kansas
Other clinicians with the same primary specialty enrolled in Kansas, drawn from the same CMS NPPES roster as Welch.
One of 106 Surgical Physician Assistant providers enrolled in Kansas, 5 are shown here.
Leah Alpers
PA-C
Hoisington, KS
Larry Armstrong
P.A.C.
Wichita, KS
Wade Babcock
PAC
Great Bend, KS
Holly Bachman
PA-C
Overland Park, KS
Jessica Baldwin
PA
Kansas City, KS
Compare Surgical Physician Assistant nationally: see state-by-state distribution →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Christopher Welch, PA-C's specialty? ▼
Christopher Welch, PA-C specializes in Surgical Physician Assistant and practices in Merriam, Kansas. Credentials: PA-C.
How much does Christopher Welch, PA-C prescribe under Medicare Part D? ▼
In 2024, Christopher Welch, PA-C wrote 53 Medicare Part D claims totaling $6K in drug costs for 45 beneficiaries.
Where is Christopher Welch, PA-C located? ▼
Christopher Welch, PA-C is located at 7450 KESSLER ST STE 140, Merriam, KS, 66204. Phone: (913) 319-7600.
What is Christopher Welch, PA-C's NPI number? ▼
Christopher Welch, PA-C's National Provider Identifier (NPI) is 1982601316, issued on 06/30/2005.
Does Christopher Welch, PA-C prescribe opioids? ▼
Yes, Christopher Welch, PA-C had 23 opioid claims in 2024 with an opioid prescribing rate of 43.4%.
How many Surgical Physician Assistant providers are there in the US? ▼
There are 16,380 Surgical Physician Assistant providers across 54 states in the US. The average Surgical Physician Assistant provider writes 341 Medicare Part D claims per year.
What drugs does Christopher Welch, PA-C prescribe most often? ▼
Based on 2024 Medicare Part D data, Christopher Welch, PA-C's most frequently prescribed drugs include Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen. This reflects Medicare Part D prescriptions only and does not include commercial insurance or other payer types.
Does Christopher Welch, PA-C accept Medicare? ▼
Christopher Welch, PA-C appears in CMS Medicare data with 53 Part D claims and 45 Medicare beneficiaries in 2024. Contact the provider's office directly to confirm current Medicare enrollment and accepted plans.
How can I verify Christopher Welch, PA-C's credentials? ▼
Christopher Welch, PA-C's NPI is 1982601316 with credentials PA-C. 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.