NPI registry status
Active
2026 NPPES data Pain Medicine Physician NPI 1245271568 MD
Verify on CMS → Joseph Thomas, MD
Pain Medicine Physician in Erie, Pennsylvania.
This profile is drawn from the federal National Provider Identifier Registry (CMS NPPES), which lists more than 7 million U.S. healthcare providers - including 951 in Pain Medicine 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
14K
Medicare Part D claims · 1K beneficiaries · Pain Medicine Physician avg: 2K
Generic prescribing
96%
generic claims · 4% brand-name · higher generic rates reduce patient out-of-pocket costs
MIPS score
12.6/100
▼ 71 pts below national avg 83.1 · Penalty band
Industry payments
$526.38
29 payments · CMS Open Payments (Sunshine Act)
Source: CMS Medicare Part D Prescriber Public Use File, 2023
Compiled from official public sources by the PlainDoctor editorial team.
What the federal data shows
Joseph Thomas, MD reported a CMS MIPS final score of 12.6/100 - below the 83.1 national average - and filed 14,007 Medicare Part D claims in 2023.
- 12.6/100
- MIPS score · -71 vs avg
- 14K
- Part D claims, 2023
- 96%
- 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.
Joseph Thomas, MD's MIPS score vs every scored U.S. clinician
CMS Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) final score, 2023, the federal quality measure
13 2nd percentile higher than 2% of 477,587 scored providers
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more scored 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.
Source CMS Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) · 2023
Where Joseph Thomas, MD sits
This provider among pain medicine physician peers
Across the 286 pain medicine physician providers who report both Medicare Part D prescribing and a MIPS quality score, Joseph Thomas, MD writes more Part D claims than 98% of them and scores higher on MIPS quality than 9% - placing this provider in the high-volume, lower-quality quadrant. Volume reflects patient-panel size and specialty, not quality; the two axes are independent.
Part D claim volume vs MIPS quality, by specialty percentile
Each dot is one pain medicine physician peer from a representative sample of 60; the gold marker is Joseph Thomas, MD. Source: CMS Medicare Part D Prescriber data and the CMS Merit-based Incentive Payment System, 2023.
✓
Board certification likely (heuristic, not verified)
Joseph Thomas, 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 Joseph Thomas, MD?
Below national averagePrimary specialty
Pain Medicine Physician
Medicare Part D claims
14,007 7× vs specialty avg
MIPS final score
12.6/100 70.5 pts vs avg
Specialty distribution in Pennsylvania
How Pain Medicine Physician compares to other specialties among Pennsylvania providers
Medicare quality performance, MIPS
Joseph Thomas, MD's 2023 MIPS final score plotted against the Pain Medicine Physician national average
- MIPS Final Score
- 12.6/100
- vs 83.1 national avg · 2023 performance year
MIPS final score (Pain Medicine Physician) - 12.6/100 vs national avg 83.1
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).
Joseph Thomas, MD appears in the CMS NPPES registry as a Pain Medicine Physician provider holding MD credentials at 5442 PEACH ST, Erie, PA, 16509, with a listed phone of (814) 833-7246. NPI 1245271568 was issued on 06/09/2006.
Medicare Part D records for calendar year 2023 show 14,007 prescription claims written by this provider, covering 1,181 Medicare beneficiaries and totaling roughly $656K in drug spend, split 4% brand-name and 96% generic by claim count, with an opioid prescribing rate of 55.8%. On the CMS Merit-based Incentive Payment System, this provider earned a Final Score of 12.6/100 for the 2023 performance year (Quality 25.1), compared with the national average of 83.1.
Pain Medicine Physician is a narrow specialty nationwide, with 951 enrolled providers across 49 states and an average of 2,078 Part D claims per prescriber, so the context for interpreting these metrics differs meaningfully from a primary-care baseline.
Important: PlainDoctor is a directory of publicly available government data, not medical advice, a malpractice database, or a quality rating. Inclusion here does not imply a recommendation, and absence of complaints or sanctions on this page does not mean none exist, always verify credentials through the NPPES NPI Registry, your state medical board, and the ABMS or AOA before making healthcare decisions.
Practice Address
Provider Details
| NPI | 1245271568 |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Pain Medicine Physician |
| Credentials | MD |
| Gender | Male |
| NPI Issued | 06/09/2006 |
CMS Quality Score (MIPS)
Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) scores from CMS, 2023 performance year.
12.5704
Final Score
Avg: 83.1
25.1408
Quality
Reporting: Individual
Hospital and facility affiliations
Facilities where Joseph Thomas, 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.
Keystone Rehabilitation Systems Inc
Erie, PA
Tri-State Pain Institute LLC
Erie, PA
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 Joseph Thomas, MD. Source: openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Total received
$526
Largest payer
Salix Pharmaceuticals, a division of Bausch Health US, LLC
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.
License & disciplinary context - Pennsylvania PA-BOM 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 ~45K Pennsylvania medical licensees in 2023 - they are NOT specific to Joseph Thomas, MD. To verify Joseph Thomas, MD's current license status, search the PA-BOM public license lookup directly, or check the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) verification service.
133
Total board actions, Pennsylvania 2023
Across 129 cases
2.96
Actions per 1,000 licensees
Pennsylvania statewide rate
probation
Most common action type
48 cases
PA-BOM 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 Pennsylvania disciplinary trends page. Cross-checked against FSMB U.S. Medical Regulatory Trends.
Brand vs generic prescribing mix · Generic-heavy
Joseph Thomas, MD - brand share 4.0%
Pain Medicine Physician average
4% brand-name claims vs 96% generic, on 14,007 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.
14,007
Total Claims
$656K
Total Drug Cost
1,181
Medicare Beneficiaries
Prescribing Breakdown
- 30-Day Fills
- 14,976
- Total Day Supply
- 414,303
- Brand vs Generic
- 4% brand / 96% generic
- Brand Drug Cost
- $292K
- Generic Drug Cost
- $365K
- Opioid Claims
- 7,813 (55.8% rate)
- Antibiotic Claims
- 22
Patient Demographics
- Average Patient Age
- 68.4 years
- Avg HCC Risk Score
- 1.33
- Gender Split
- 54% female / 46% male
- Age Distribution
- <65: 328, 65-74: 553, 75-84: 246, 85+: 54
Top Prescribed Drugs (Medicare Part D)
Top drugs by claim count for calendar year 2023. Based on Medicare Part D data only.
What Joseph Thomas, MD prescribes most
Top Medicare Part D drugs by claim count, 2023
- Hydrocodone-Acetam…
Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen
5,275 claims
- Gabapentin 1,151
Gabapentin
1,151 claims
- Tizanidine Hcl 644
Tizanidine Hcl
644 claims
- Tramadol Hcl 562
Tramadol Hcl
562 claims
- Carisoprodol 561
Carisoprodol
561 claims
- Pregabalin 545
Pregabalin
545 claims
- Oxycodone-Acetamin… 518
Oxycodone-Acetaminophen
518 claims
- Diazepam 439
Diazepam
439 claims
| Drug | Claims |
|---|---|
| Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 5,275 |
| Gabapentin | 1,151 |
| Tizanidine Hcl | 644 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 562 |
| Carisoprodol | 561 |
| Pregabalin | 545 |
| Oxycodone-Acetaminophen Oxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 518 |
| Diazepam | 439 |
| Buprenorphine | 405 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 297 |
* Counts below 11 are suppressed by CMS for patient privacy. Generic names shown where available from CMS Part D data.
Pain Medicine Physician Overview
How Joseph Thomas, MD fits within the Pain Medicine Physician landscape nationally.
951
Pain Medicine Physician Providers in US
49
States with Pain Medicine Physician
2,078
Avg Claims per Provider
Joseph Thomas, MD's 14,007 claims are above the specialty average of 2,078.
Nearby Pain Medicine Physician Providers in Pennsylvania
Other clinicians with the same primary specialty enrolled in Pennsylvania, drawn from the same CMS NPPES roster as Thomas.
Mogana Ashar
Allentown, PA
Dr. Whitney Bachow
M.D.
Plymouth Meeting, PA
Dr. Thomas Barone
DO
Philadelphia, PA
Dr. Jennie Corinne Baublitz Brenenborg
DO
Lancaster, PA
Dr. Justin Birkhimer
PA-C
Indiana, PA
Compare Pain Medicine Physician nationally: see state-by-state distribution →
Before you book an appointment
Use this federal record as your verification checklist, not as a recommendation.
- Confirm the NPI record is current in the official CMS registry, providers update their own NPPES details, and moves can lag. Verify this NPI
- Check the active license and any disciplinary history with the Pennsylvania medical board, federal registration is not a license check. Credential verification guide
- Weigh a second option: compare this provider with a nearby Pain Medicine Physician peer on Medicare volume and prescribing patterns. Compare providers
Medicare Part D and MIPS figures describe practice patterns in federal programs only, they are not quality ratings, and PlainDoctor does not rate, rank, or recommend providers.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Joseph Thomas, MD's specialty? ▼
Joseph Thomas, MD specializes in Pain Medicine Physician and practices in Erie, Pennsylvania. Credentials: MD.
How much does Joseph Thomas, MD prescribe under Medicare Part D? ▼
In 2023, Joseph Thomas, MD wrote 14,007 Medicare Part D claims totaling $656K in drug costs for 1,181 beneficiaries.
What is Joseph Thomas, MD's Medicare quality score? ▼
Joseph Thomas, MD has a CMS MIPS Final Score of 12.6/100 (Quality: 25.1). The national average MIPS Final Score is 83.1. Source: CMS Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) 2023.
Where is Joseph Thomas, MD located? ▼
Joseph Thomas, MD is located at 5442 PEACH ST, Erie, PA, 16509. Phone: (814) 833-7246.
What is Joseph Thomas, MD's NPI number? ▼
Joseph Thomas, MD's National Provider Identifier (NPI) is 1245271568, issued on 06/09/2006.
Does Joseph Thomas, MD prescribe more brand-name or generic drugs? ▼
Joseph Thomas, MD's prescribing is 4% brand-name and 96% generic drugs by claim count, with $292K in brand drug costs.
Does Joseph Thomas, MD prescribe opioids? ▼
Yes, Joseph Thomas, MD had 7,813 opioid claims in 2023 with an opioid prescribing rate of 55.8%.
How many Pain Medicine Physician providers are there in the US? ▼
There are 951 Pain Medicine Physician providers across 49 states in the US. The average Pain Medicine Physician provider writes 2,078 Medicare Part D claims per year.
What drugs does Joseph Thomas, MD prescribe most often? ▼
Based on 2023 Medicare Part D data, Joseph Thomas, MD's most frequently prescribed drugs include Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen, Gabapentin, Tizanidine Hcl. This reflects Medicare Part D prescriptions only and does not include commercial insurance or other payer types.
Does Joseph Thomas, MD accept Medicare? ▼
Joseph Thomas, MD appears in CMS Medicare data with 14,007 Part D claims and 1,181 Medicare beneficiaries in 2023. Contact the provider's office directly to confirm current Medicare enrollment and accepted plans.
How can I verify Joseph Thomas, MD's credentials? ▼
Joseph Thomas, MD's NPI is 1245271568 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
Compiled from official public sources by the PlainDoctor editorial team.