NPI registry status
Active
2026 NPPES data Primary Care Nurse Practitioner NPI 1992166839 FNP
Verify on CMS → Heather Couch, FNP
Primary Care Nurse Practitioner in Santa Cruz, California.
This profile is drawn from the federal National Provider Identifier Registry (CMS NPPES), which lists more than 7 million U.S. healthcare providers - including 10,597 in Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, 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
960
Medicare Part D claims · 138 beneficiaries · Primary Care Nurse Practitioner avg: 1K
Generic prescribing
86%
generic claims · 14% brand-name · higher generic rates reduce patient out-of-pocket costs
Source: CMS Medicare Part D Prescriber Public Use File, 2024
What the federal data shows
Heather Couch, FNP filed 960 Medicare Part D claims in 2024 as a Primary Care Nurse Practitioner in Santa Cruz, California, prescribing 86% generic.
- 960
- Part D claims, 2024
- 86%
- generic prescribing
- ≥74th
- 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 Heather Couch, FNP
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 1992166839), first enumerated 03/18/2016.
Source: CMS NPPES
- Reported
Medicare Part D participation
Filed 960 Medicare Part D prescription claims in the 2023 CMS public use file — indicates active Medicare prescribing participation.
Source: CMS Part D Prescriber PUF
- Reported
Hospital affiliations
1 CMS Care Compare hospital affiliation on record — practice footprint from the Doctors and Clinicians file.
Source: CMS Care Compare
- State context
State board disciplinary context
California statewide board action statistics are published annually — these figures describe aggregate state activity, not Heather Couch, FNP's individual license status. Verify directly with the state medical board.
Source: MBC 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 1992166839 · Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
NPI-10 · ENUM-MID · TAX-MID · RX-LIGHT · BOOK-LIGHT · PHOTO-ENUM
- NPI-10 1992166839
- ENUM-MID 2016
- TAX-MID 11K Primary Care
- RX-LIGHT 960
- BOOK-LIGHT 1,015 in California
- PHOTO-ENUM Szilvia Lorincz · 2016
Heather Couch, FNP's Medicare Part D volume vs every U.S. prescriber
Total Medicare Part D claims, 2024, across all CMS prescribers nationally
960 ≥ 74th percentile 74% 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 Heather Couch, FNP?
Quality data not reportedPrimary specialty
Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
Medicare Part D claims
960 35% vs specialty avg
Specialty distribution in California
How Primary Care Nurse Practitioner compares to other specialties among California 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 Primary Care Nurse Practitioner. 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 | 1992166839 |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Primary Care Nurse Practitioner |
| Credentials | FNP |
| Gender | Female |
| NPI Issued | 03/18/2016 |
Hospital and facility affiliations
Facilities where Heather Couch, FNP 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.
County OF Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA
Affiliations sourced from CMS Doctors and Clinicians National Downloadable File; hospital ratings from CMS Hospital General Information dataset (cross-referenced by facility name + state).
License & disciplinary context - California MBC 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 ~150K California medical licensees in 2023 - they are NOT specific to Heather Couch, FNP. To verify Heather Couch, FNP's current license status, search the MBC public license lookup directly, or check the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) verification service.
576
Total board actions, California 2023
Across 556 cases
3.84
Actions per 1,000 licensees
California statewide rate
probation
Most common action type
186 cases
MBC 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 California disciplinary trends page. Cross-checked against FSMB U.S. Medical Regulatory Trends.
Brand vs generic prescribing mix · Typical
Heather Couch, FNP - brand share 14.0%
Primary Care Nurse Practitioner average
14% brand-name claims vs 86% generic, on 960 2024 Medicare Part D claims.
The federal Medicare Part D Generic Dispensing Rate national benchmark sits near 90% generic / 10% brand for primary-care prescribers, per CMS Office of the Actuary 2024 estimates. Higher brand share is common in specialty prescribing where generic equivalents are not available.
Medicare Part D Prescribing Data
CMS Medicare Part D prescriber-level data for calendar year 2024.
960
Total Claims
$98K
Total Drug Cost
138
Medicare Beneficiaries
Prescribing Breakdown
- 30-Day Fills
- 1,756.1
- Total Day Supply
- 51,487
- Brand vs Generic
- 14% brand / 86% generic
- Brand Drug Cost
- $84K
- Generic Drug Cost
- $13K
Patient Demographics
- Average Patient Age
- 63.1 years
- Avg HCC Risk Score
- 1.17
- Gender Split
- 46% female / 54% male
- Age Distribution
- <65: 46, 65-74: 75, 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 Heather Couch, FNP prescribes most
Top Medicare Part D drugs by claim count, 2024
- Lisinopril
Lisinopril
71 claims
- Atorvastatin Calcium
Atorvastatin Calcium
69 claims
- Fluticasone Propio…
Fluticasone Propionate
51 claims
- Amlodipine Besylate
Amlodipine Besylate
47 claims
- Metformin Hcl
Metformin Hcl
42 claims
- Levothyroxine Sodium
Levothyroxine Sodium
32 claims
- Simvastatin 26
Simvastatin
26 claims
- Gabapentin 23
Gabapentin
23 claims
| Drug | Claims |
|---|---|
| Lisinopril | 71 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 69 |
| Fluticasone Propionate | 51 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | 47 |
| Metformin Hcl | 42 |
| Levothyroxine Sodium | 32 |
| Simvastatin | 26 |
| Gabapentin | 23 |
| Tamsulosin Hcl | 20 |
| Breo Ellipta Fluticasone/Vilanterol | 18 |
* Counts below 11 are suppressed by CMS for patient privacy. Generic names shown where available from CMS Part D data.
Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Overview
How Heather Couch, FNP fits within the Primary Care Nurse Practitioner landscape nationally.
10,597
Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Providers in US
54
States with Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
1,471
Avg Claims per Provider
Heather Couch, FNP's 960 claims are below the specialty average of 1,471.
Nationwide Primary Care Nurse Practitioner peers with similar MIPS or enrollment year
Two federal-record peer sets for Couch, both outside California so the neighborhoods are not geographic containment.
Same NPPES enumeration year (2016)
Same-specialty clinicians who entered the NPI registry in the same calendar year, outside this state.
Nearby Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Providers in California
Other clinicians with the same primary specialty enrolled in California, drawn from the same CMS NPPES roster as Couch.
One of 1,015 Primary Care Nurse Practitioner providers enrolled in California, 5 are shown here.
Pernian Abadi
Bakersfield, CA
Ann Abraham
Long Beach, CA
Angelica Acevedo
FNP
Parlier, CA
Natalie Adame
PNP
Orange, CA
Pratikshya Adhikari
MSN, APRN, FNP-BC
Sacramento, CA
Compare Primary Care Nurse Practitioner nationally: see state-by-state distribution →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Heather Couch, FNP's specialty? ▼
Heather Couch, FNP specializes in Primary Care Nurse Practitioner and practices in Santa Cruz, California. Credentials: FNP.
How much does Heather Couch, FNP prescribe under Medicare Part D? ▼
In 2024, Heather Couch, FNP wrote 960 Medicare Part D claims totaling $98K in drug costs for 138 beneficiaries.
Where is Heather Couch, FNP located? ▼
Heather Couch, FNP is located at 1080 EMELINE AVE, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060. Phone: (831) 454-4100.
What is Heather Couch, FNP's NPI number? ▼
Heather Couch, FNP's National Provider Identifier (NPI) is 1992166839, issued on 03/18/2016.
Does Heather Couch, FNP prescribe more brand-name or generic drugs? ▼
Heather Couch, FNP's prescribing is 14% brand-name and 86% generic drugs by claim count, with $84K in brand drug costs.
How many Primary Care Nurse Practitioner providers are there in the US? ▼
There are 10,597 Primary Care Nurse Practitioner providers across 54 states in the US. The average Primary Care Nurse Practitioner provider writes 1,471 Medicare Part D claims per year.
What drugs does Heather Couch, FNP prescribe most often? ▼
Based on 2024 Medicare Part D data, Heather Couch, FNP's most frequently prescribed drugs include Lisinopril, Atorvastatin Calcium, Fluticasone Propionate. This reflects Medicare Part D prescriptions only and does not include commercial insurance or other payer types.
Does Heather Couch, FNP accept Medicare? ▼
Heather Couch, FNP appears in CMS Medicare data with 960 Part D claims and 138 Medicare beneficiaries in 2024. Contact the provider's office directly to confirm current Medicare enrollment and accepted plans.
How can I verify Heather Couch, FNP's credentials? ▼
Heather Couch, FNP's NPI is 1992166839 with credentials FNP. 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.