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2026 NPPES data Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician NPI 1144284357 M.D.
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James Higgins, M.D.

Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician in Baltimore, Maryland.

This profile is drawn from the federal National Provider Identifier Registry (CMS NPPES), which lists more than 7 million U.S. healthcare providers - including 372 in Surgery of the Hand (Plastic 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
67
Medicare Part D claims · 52 beneficiaries · Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician avg: 106
MIPS score
0/100
▼ 84 pts below national avg 83.5 · Penalty band
Industry payments
$217.11
3 payments · CMS Open Payments (Sunshine Act)
Verify NPI on CMS Methodology
Compiled from official public sources by the editorial process.

What the federal data shows

James Higgins, M.D. reported a CMS MIPS final score of 0/100 - below the 83.5 national average - and filed 67 Medicare Part D claims in 2023.

0/100
MIPS score · -83 vs avg
67
Part D claims, 2023
Likely
board-certified (heuristic)
≥0th
pct among measured MIPS (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.

CMS NPPES provider registry desk

NPI 1144284357 · Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician

NPI-10 · ENUM-LEGACY · TAX-TRACE · MIPS-LOW · RX-TRACE · BOOK-THIN · PHOTO-FINISH

  • NPI-10 1144284357
  • ENUM-LEGACY 2006
  • TAX-TRACE 372
  • MIPS-LOW 0/100
  • RX-TRACE 67
  • BOOK-THIN 7 in Maryland
  • PHOTO-FINISH Kevin Han · ±0.0

MIPS final-score neighbourhood

Same-specialty nationwide peers by CMS final score, not geographic proximity

MIPS pts

What this shows Nearest measured MIPS peers for this NUCC specialty (2023 performance year).

Source CMS Quality Payment Program (MIPS) As of 2023

James Higgins, M.D.'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.

0 ≥ 0th percentile 0% of 454,083 measured providers are in lower value bands

0–10: 8,684 measured providers (2%). This entry sits in this band. 10–20: 3,008 measured providers (1%). Above this entry. 20–30: 3,069 measured providers (1%). Above this entry. 30–40: 2,746 measured providers (1%). Above this entry. 40–50: 2,928 measured providers (1%). Above this entry. 50–60: 5,882 measured providers (1%). Above this entry. 60–70: 13,906 measured providers (3%). Above this entry. 70–80: 94,570 measured providers (21%). Above this entry. 80–90: 129,887 measured providers (29%). Above this entry. 90+: 189,403 measured providers (42%). Above this entry. This provider 0 100 every measured MIPS clinician, bucketed by value

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 Higgins, M.D. sits

This provider among surgery of the hand (plastic surgery) physician peers

Across the 80 surgery of the hand (plastic surgery) physician providers who report both Medicare Part D prescribing and a MIPS quality score, James Higgins, M.D. writes more Part D claims than 39% of them and scores higher on MIPS quality than 0% - placing this provider in the lower-volume, lower-quality quadrant. Volume reflects patient-panel size and specialty, not quality; the two axes are independent.

Lower volume · High qualityHigh volume · High qualityLower volume · Lower qualityHigh volume · Lower quality02550751000255075100Part D claim volume, percentile in specialtyMIPS quality, percentilePoint, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 83 · MIPS quality, percentile: 80Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 33 · MIPS quality, percentile: 60Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 40 · MIPS quality, percentile: 77Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 33 · MIPS quality, percentile: 23Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 22 · MIPS quality, percentile: 73Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 5 · MIPS quality, percentile: 17Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 17 · MIPS quality, percentile: 50Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 98 · MIPS quality, percentile: 13Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 23 · MIPS quality, percentile: 45Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 60 · MIPS quality, percentile: 42Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 68 · MIPS quality, percentile: 27Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 47 · MIPS quality, percentile: 68Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 85 · MIPS quality, percentile: 67Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 58 · MIPS quality, percentile: 17Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 17 · MIPS quality, percentile: 87Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 100 · MIPS quality, percentile: 93Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 23 · MIPS quality, percentile: 15Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 77 · MIPS quality, percentile: 58Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 80 · MIPS quality, percentile: 12Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 52 · MIPS quality, percentile: 10Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 0 · MIPS quality, percentile: 65Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 5 · MIPS quality, percentile: 90Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 43 · MIPS quality, percentile: 33Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 93 · MIPS quality, percentile: 55Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 28 · MIPS quality, percentile: 97Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 75 · MIPS quality, percentile: 30Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 33 · MIPS quality, percentile: 20Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 62 · MIPS quality, percentile: 37Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 55 · MIPS quality, percentile: 95Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 55 · MIPS quality, percentile: 78Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 90 · MIPS quality, percentile: 35Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 53 · MIPS quality, percentile: 53Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 28 · MIPS quality, percentile: 0Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 38 · MIPS quality, percentile: 75Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 72 · MIPS quality, percentile: 98Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 27 · MIPS quality, percentile: 47Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 0 · MIPS quality, percentile: 90Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 32 · MIPS quality, percentile: 43Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 12 · MIPS quality, percentile: 23Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 62 · MIPS quality, percentile: 88Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 8 · MIPS quality, percentile: 0Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 67 · MIPS quality, percentile: 82Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 73 · MIPS quality, percentile: 8Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 65 · MIPS quality, percentile: 82Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 12 · MIPS quality, percentile: 40Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 87 · MIPS quality, percentile: 37Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 95 · MIPS quality, percentile: 22Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 10 · MIPS quality, percentile: 57Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 70 · MIPS quality, percentile: 62Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 78 · MIPS quality, percentile: 0Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 17 · MIPS quality, percentile: 70Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 92 · MIPS quality, percentile: 32Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 88 · MIPS quality, percentile: 98Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 97 · MIPS quality, percentile: 0Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 50 · MIPS quality, percentile: 82Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 0 · MIPS quality, percentile: 70Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 82 · MIPS quality, percentile: 48Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 48 · MIPS quality, percentile: 52Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 45 · MIPS quality, percentile: 28Point, Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 12 · MIPS quality, percentile: 63James Higgins, M.D., Part D claim volume, percentile in specialty: 39 · MIPS quality, percentile: 0
Part D claim volume vs MIPS quality, by specialty percentile

Each dot is one surgery of the hand (plastic surgery) physician peer from a representative sample of 60; the gold marker is James Higgins, M.D.. Source: CMS Medicare Part D Prescriber data and the CMS Merit-based Incentive Payment System, 2023.

✓
Board certification likely (heuristic, not verified)

James Higgins, M.D. 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 Higgins, M.D.?

Below national average

NPI registry status

Active

Issued 04/14/2006

NPI 1144284357

Primary specialty

Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician

Rare

372 US NPIs in this specialty

Medicare Part D claims

67 37% vs specialty avg

2023 prescription claims

Specialty avg: 106

MIPS final score

0/100 83.5 pts vs avg

Penalty band band

vs 83.5 national avg

Specialty distribution in Maryland

How Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician compares to other specialties among Maryland providers

Maryland providers
Behavior Technician14.1%Clinical Social Worker5.5%Student in an Organized Heal…4.5%Home Health Aide4.4%Physical Therapist3.9%Pharmacist3.6%Surgery of the Hand (Plastic…0%
Largest specialties in Maryland (% of in-state providers)

Medicare quality performance, MIPS

James Higgins, M.D.'s 2023 MIPS final score plotted against the Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician national average

Below national average
MIPS Final Score
0/100
vs 83.5 national avg · 2023 performance year
0%100%National avg84%0%
MIPS final score (Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician) - 0/100 vs national avg 83.5
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

3333 N CALVERT ST
Baltimore, MD 21218
(410) 235-5405

Provider Details

NPI 1144284357
Specialty Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician
Credentials M.D.
Gender Male
NPI Issued 04/14/2006

CMS Quality Score (MIPS)

Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) scores from CMS, 2023 performance year.

0
Final Score
Measured-score avg: 83.5
0
Quality

Reporting: Individual

Hospital and facility affiliations

Facilities where James Higgins, M.D. 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.

Greater Chesapeake Hand Specialists, P.A.
Lutherville, MD
Medstar Medical Group II LLC
Glen Burnie, MD

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 Higgins, M.D.. Source: openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.

Total received

$217

Largest payer

Trimed, 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 2023.

67
Total Claims
$477
Total Drug Cost
52
Medicare Beneficiaries

Prescribing Breakdown

30-Day Fills
68
Total Day Supply
485
Brand Drug Cost
$0
Generic Drug Cost
$477
Opioid Claims
45 (67.2% rate)

Patient Demographics

Average Patient Age
73.0 years
Avg HCC Risk Score
0.80
Gender Split
60% female / 40% male

Top Prescribed Drugs (Medicare Part D)

Top drugs by claim count for calendar year 2023. Based on Medicare Part D data only.

Drug Claims
Tramadol Hcl
 20
Oxycodone Hcl
 17

* Counts below 11 are suppressed by CMS for patient privacy. Generic names shown where available from CMS Part D data.

More Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician in MD → All providers in Maryland → Compare specialties →

Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician Overview

How James Higgins, M.D. fits within the Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician landscape nationally.

372
Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician Providers in US
43
States with Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician
106
Avg Claims per Provider

James Higgins, M.D.'s 67 claims are below the specialty average of 106.

Nationwide Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician peers with similar MIPS or enrollment year

Two federal-record peer sets for Higgins, both outside Maryland so the neighborhoods are not geographic containment.

Similar MIPS final score

Nearest same-specialty clinicians by CMS MIPS final score (0 here).

Kevin Han 0 AZ John Jennings 0 PA Rohan Kambeyanda 0 CA Prasad Kilaru 0 CA

Same NPPES enumeration year (2006)

Same-specialty clinicians who entered the NPI registry in the same calendar year, outside this state.

James Kelly Fort Smith, AR Sheel Sharma New York, NY Timothy Johnson Hershey, PA Jefrey Fishman Troy, MI

Nearby Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician Providers in Maryland

Other clinicians with the same primary specialty enrolled in Maryland, drawn from the same CMS NPPES roster as Higgins.

One of 7 Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician providers enrolled in Maryland, 5 are shown here.

Dr. Chao Azad
MD MPH
Baltimore, MD
Dr. James Carlton
M.D.
Baltimore, MD
Dr. Cassandra Driscoll
MD
Bethesda, MD
Dr. Allan Smith
M.D.
Silver Spring, MD
Dr. Farouk Sultani
M.D.
Salisbury, MD

Compare Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician nationally: see state-by-state distribution →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is James Higgins, M.D.'s specialty? ▼
James Higgins, M.D. specializes in Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician and practices in Baltimore, Maryland. Credentials: M.D..
How much does James Higgins, M.D. prescribe under Medicare Part D? ▼
In 2023, James Higgins, M.D. wrote 67 Medicare Part D claims totaling $477 in drug costs for 52 beneficiaries.
What is James Higgins, M.D.'s Medicare quality score? ▼
James Higgins, M.D. has a CMS MIPS Final Score of 0/100 (Quality: 0). 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 Higgins, M.D. located? ▼
James Higgins, M.D. is located at 3333 N CALVERT ST, Baltimore, MD, 21218. Phone: (410) 235-5405.
What is James Higgins, M.D.'s NPI number? ▼
James Higgins, M.D.'s National Provider Identifier (NPI) is 1144284357, issued on 04/14/2006.
Does James Higgins, M.D. prescribe opioids? ▼
Yes, James Higgins, M.D. had 45 opioid claims in 2023 with an opioid prescribing rate of 67.2%.
How many Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician providers are there in the US? ▼
There are 372 Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician providers across 43 states in the US. The average Surgery of the Hand (Plastic Surgery) Physician provider writes 106 Medicare Part D claims per year.
What drugs does James Higgins, M.D. prescribe most often? ▼
Based on 2023 Medicare Part D data, James Higgins, M.D.'s most frequently prescribed drugs include Tramadol Hcl, Oxycodone Hcl. This reflects Medicare Part D prescriptions only and does not include commercial insurance or other payer types.
Does James Higgins, M.D. accept Medicare? ▼
James Higgins, M.D. appears in CMS Medicare data with 67 Part D claims and 52 Medicare beneficiaries in 2023. Contact the provider's office directly to confirm current Medicare enrollment and accepted plans.
How can I verify James Higgins, M.D.'s credentials? ▼
James Higgins, M.D.'s NPI is 1144284357 with credentials M.D.. 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

Compiled from official public sources by the editorial process.

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.