NPI registry status
Active
2026 NPPES data Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician NPI 1396935227 MD
Verify on CMS → James Choo, MD
Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician in Knoxville, Tennessee.
This profile is drawn from the federal National Provider Identifier Registry (CMS NPPES), which lists more than 7 million U.S. healthcare providers - including 4,032 in Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) 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
497
Medicare Part D claims · 277 beneficiaries · Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician avg: 2K
Generic prescribing
81%
generic claims · 19% brand-name · higher generic rates reduce patient out-of-pocket costs
MIPS score
77.9/100
▼ 6 pts below national avg 83.5 · Above neutral
Industry payments
$2.4K
65 payments · CMS Open Payments (Sunshine Act)
Source: CMS Medicare Part D Prescriber Public Use File, 2023
What the federal data shows
James Choo, MD reported a CMS MIPS final score of 77.9/100 - below the 83.5 national average - and filed 497 Medicare Part D claims in 2023.
- 77.9/100
- MIPS score · -6 vs avg
- 497
- Part D claims, 2023
- 81%
- generic prescribing
- Likely
- board-certified (heuristic)
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 James Choo, MD
Federal records show an active NPI with both Medicare prescribing volume and a measured CMS quality score — objective registry data, not patient reviews.
- Verified
NPI registry status
Active listing in the CMS National Provider Identifier Registry (NPI 1396935227), first enumerated 07/26/2007.
Source: CMS NPPES
- Reported
Medicare Part D participation
Filed 497 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)
Reported a CMS MIPS final score of 77.9/100 in the Quality Payment Program — a federal quality measure, not a patient review.
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
2 CMS Care Compare hospital affiliations on record — practice footprint from the Doctors and Clinicians file.
Source: CMS Care Compare
- Reported
Industry payment transparency
$2.4K in reported industry payments (65 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 1396935227 · Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician
NPI-10 · ENUM-MID · TAX-NARROW · MIPS-BELOW · RX-LIGHT · BOOK-THIN · PHOTO-FINISH
- NPI-10 1396935227
- ENUM-MID 2007
- TAX-NARROW 4,032
- MIPS-BELOW 77.9/100
- RX-LIGHT 497
- BOOK-THIN 64 in Tennessee
- PHOTO-FINISH Neville Campbell · ±0.1
MIPS final-score neighbourhood
Same-specialty nationwide peers by CMS final score, not geographic proximity
- Russell Daniel ·…
Russell Daniel
77.7 MIPS pts
- Choo · this prov…
Choo · this provider
77.9 MIPS pts
- Neville Campbell…
Neville Campbell
78 MIPS pts
- Jorge Kurek · near
Jorge Kurek
78.1 MIPS pts
- Sarah Blake · hi…
Sarah Blake
78.2 MIPS pts
What this shows Nearest measured MIPS peers for this NUCC specialty (2023 performance year).
James Choo, MD's MIPS score vs every measured U.S. clinician
CMS Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) final score, 2023, the federal quality measure. Clinicians whose score CMS assigned without scoring any category are excluded.
78 ≥ 20th percentile 20% of 454,083 measured providers are in lower value bands
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more measured providers. 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 whole-score-point band: it counts only measured clinicians in lower score bands. A CMS MIPS metric is not a recommendation or a clinical-quality rating by PlainDoctor. See methodology § corpus placement.
Source CMS Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) · 2023
Where James Choo, MD sits
This provider among pain medicine (anesthesiology) physician peers
Across the 928 pain medicine (anesthesiology) physician providers who report both Medicare Part D prescribing and a MIPS quality score, James Choo, MD writes more Part D claims than 34% of them and scores higher on MIPS quality than 40% - placing this provider in the lower-volume, lower-quality quadrant. Volume reflects patient-panel size and specialty, not quality; the two axes are independent.
Each dot is one pain medicine (anesthesiology) physician peer from a representative sample of 60; the gold marker is James Choo, MD. Source: CMS Medicare Part D Prescriber data and the CMS Merit-based Incentive Payment System, 2023.
✓
Board certification likely (heuristic, not verified)
James Choo, MD practices in an ABMS-board-eligible specialty and shows active CMS Medicare participation + MIPS quality reporting + 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 James Choo, MD?
Below national averagePrimary specialty
Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician
Medicare Part D claims
497 70% vs specialty avg
MIPS final score
77.9/100 5.6 pts vs avg
Specialty distribution in Tennessee
How Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician compares to other specialties among Tennessee providers
Medicare quality performance, MIPS
James Choo, MD's 2023 MIPS final score plotted against the Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician national average
- MIPS Final Score
- 77.9/100
- vs 83.5 national avg · 2023 performance year
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 | 1396935227 |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician |
| Credentials | MD |
| Gender | Male |
| NPI Issued | 07/26/2007 |
CMS Quality Score (MIPS)
Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) scores from CMS, 2023 performance year.
77.9137
Final Score
Measured-score avg: 83.5
100
Quality
26.379
Cost
100
Promoting Interoperability
Reporting: Group practice
Hospital and facility affiliations
Facilities where James Choo, 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.
Pain Consultants OF East Tennessee, PLLC
Knoxville, TN
Physiotherapy Associates Inc
Loudon, TN
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 James Choo, MD. Source: openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Total received
$2.4K
Largest payer
Medtronic, 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.
Brand vs generic prescribing mix · Typical
James Choo, MD - brand share 19.0%
Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician average
19% brand-name claims vs 81% generic, on 497 2023 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 2023.
497
Total Claims
$102K
Total Drug Cost
277
Medicare Beneficiaries
Prescribing Breakdown
- 30-Day Fills
- 627
- Total Day Supply
- 17,827
- Brand vs Generic
- 19% brand / 81% generic
- Brand Drug Cost
- $90K
- Generic Drug Cost
- $12K
- Opioid Claims
- 254 (51.1% rate)
Patient Demographics
- Average Patient Age
- 67.9 years
- Avg HCC Risk Score
- 1.58
- Gender Split
- 54% female / 46% male
- Age Distribution
- <65: 103, 65-74: 94, 75-84: 66, 85+: 14
Top Prescribed Drugs (Medicare Part D)
Top drugs by claim count for calendar year 2023. Based on Medicare Part D data only.
What James Choo, MD prescribes most
Top Medicare Part D drugs by claim count, 2023
- Oxycodone-Acetamin…
Oxycodone-Acetaminophen
78 claims
- Hydrocodone-Acetam…
Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen
64 claims
- Botox
Botox
62 claims
- Gabapentin
Gabapentin
51 claims
- Naloxone Hcl
Naloxone Hcl
39 claims
- Tramadol Hcl 27
Tramadol Hcl
27 claims
- Morphine Sulfate Er 26
Morphine Sulfate Er
26 claims
- Baclofen 17
Baclofen
17 claims
| Drug | Claims |
|---|---|
| Oxycodone-Acetaminophen Oxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 78 |
| Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 64 |
| Botox Onabotulinumtoxina | 62 |
| Gabapentin | 51 |
| Naloxone Hcl | 39 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 27 |
| Morphine Sulfate Er Morphine Sulfate | 26 |
| Baclofen | 17 |
| Pregabalin | 17 |
| Morphine Sulfate | 16 |
* Counts below 11 are suppressed by CMS for patient privacy. Generic names shown where available from CMS Part D data.
More Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician in TN →
All providers in Tennessee →
Compare specialties →
Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician Overview
How James Choo, MD fits within the Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician landscape nationally.
4,032
Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician Providers in US
53
States with Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician
1,657
Avg Claims per Provider
James Choo, MD's 497 claims are below the specialty average of 1,657.
Nationwide Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician peers with similar MIPS or enrollment year
Two federal-record peer sets for Choo, both outside Tennessee so the neighborhoods are not geographic containment.
Similar MIPS final score
Nearest same-specialty clinicians by CMS MIPS final score (77.9 here).
Same NPPES enumeration year (2007)
Same-specialty clinicians who entered the NPI registry in the same calendar year, outside this state.
Nearby Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician Providers in Tennessee
Other clinicians with the same primary specialty enrolled in Tennessee, drawn from the same CMS NPPES roster as Choo.
One of 64 Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician providers enrolled in Tennessee, 5 are shown here.
Dr. Michael Allison
D.O.
Crossville, TN
Dr. David Annand
M.D.
Knoxville, TN
Dr. Kenneth Bartholomew
MD
Nashville, TN
Dr. Michael Bearb
M.D.
Jackson, TN
Dr. Vidya Bethi
MD
Clarksville, TN
Compare Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician nationally: see state-by-state distribution →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is James Choo, MD's specialty? ▼
James Choo, MD specializes in Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician and practices in Knoxville, Tennessee. Credentials: MD.
How much does James Choo, MD prescribe under Medicare Part D? ▼
In 2023, James Choo, MD wrote 497 Medicare Part D claims totaling $102K in drug costs for 277 beneficiaries.
What is James Choo, MD's Medicare quality score? ▼
James Choo, MD has a CMS MIPS Final Score of 77.9/100 (Quality: 100, Cost: 26.4). 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 James Choo, MD located? ▼
James Choo, MD is located at 220 FORT SANDERS WEST BLVD., Knoxville, TN, 37922. Phone: (865) 579-0552.
What is James Choo, MD's NPI number? ▼
James Choo, MD's National Provider Identifier (NPI) is 1396935227, issued on 07/26/2007.
Does James Choo, MD prescribe more brand-name or generic drugs? ▼
James Choo, MD's prescribing is 19% brand-name and 81% generic drugs by claim count, with $90K in brand drug costs.
Does James Choo, MD prescribe opioids? ▼
Yes, James Choo, MD had 254 opioid claims in 2023 with an opioid prescribing rate of 51.1%.
How many Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician providers are there in the US? ▼
There are 4,032 Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician providers across 53 states in the US. The average Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology) Physician provider writes 1,657 Medicare Part D claims per year.
What drugs does James Choo, MD prescribe most often? ▼
Based on 2023 Medicare Part D data, James Choo, MD's most frequently prescribed drugs include Oxycodone-Acetaminophen, Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen, Botox. This reflects Medicare Part D prescriptions only and does not include commercial insurance or other payer types.
Does James Choo, MD accept Medicare? ▼
James Choo, MD appears in CMS Medicare data with 497 Part D claims and 277 Medicare beneficiaries in 2023. Contact the provider's office directly to confirm current Medicare enrollment and accepted plans.
How can I verify James Choo, MD's credentials? ▼
James Choo, MD's NPI is 1396935227 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 (2023). 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 April 2026 (NPPES) / 2023 (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 May 2026.