NPI registry status
Active
2026 NPPES data Otology & Neurotology Physician NPI 1215910732 MD
Verify on CMS → Mark Nichols, MD
Otology & Neurotology Physician in Houston, Texas.
This profile is drawn from the federal National Provider Identifier Registry (CMS NPPES), which lists more than 7 million U.S. healthcare providers - including 344 in Otology & Neurotology 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
2K
Medicare Part D claims · 516 beneficiaries · Otology & Neurotology Physician avg: 421
Generic prescribing
98%
generic claims · 2% brand-name · higher generic rates reduce patient out-of-pocket costs
MIPS score
75/100
CMS neutral threshold · no category scores published
Industry payments
$433.71
4 payments · CMS Open Payments (Sunshine Act)
Source: CMS Medicare Part D Prescriber Public Use File, 2024
What the federal data shows
Mark Nichols, MD carries the neutral CMS MIPS final score of 75/100, assigned where no category was scored - and filed 1,560 Medicare Part D claims in 2024.
- 75/100
- CMS neutral score · not measured
- 2K
- Part D claims, 2024
- 98%
- 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 Mark Nichols, MD
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 1215910732), first enumerated 11/29/2005.
Source: CMS NPPES
- Reported
Medicare Part D participation
Filed 1,560 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)
CMS assigned a neutral MIPS final score of 75/100 where no performance category was scored — not a measured quality rank.
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
$433.71 in reported industry payments (4 transfers) in 2024 under the federal Sunshine Act — disclosed transfers of value, not a quality rating.
Source: CMS Open Payments
- State context
State board disciplinary context
Texas statewide board action statistics are published annually — these figures describe aggregate state activity, not Mark Nichols, MD's individual license status. Verify directly with the state medical board.
Source: TMB 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 1215910732 · Otology & Neurotology Physician
NPI-10 · ENUM-LEGACY · TAX-TRACE · MIPS-NEUTRAL · RX-MID · BOOK-THIN · PHOTO-ENUM
- NPI-10 1215910732
- ENUM-LEGACY 2005
- TAX-TRACE 344
- MIPS-NEUTRAL 75/100
- RX-MID 1,560
- BOOK-THIN 28 in Texas
- PHOTO-ENUM Lawrence Gardner, M.D. · 2005
Mark Nichols, MD's Medicare Part D volume vs every U.S. prescriber
Total Medicare Part D claims, 2024, across all CMS prescribers nationally
1,560 ≥ 81st percentile 81% 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
✓
Board certification likely (heuristic, not verified)
Mark Nichols, 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 Mark Nichols, MD?
CMS neutral score, not measuredPrimary specialty
Otology & Neurotology Physician
Medicare Part D claims
1,560 271% vs specialty avg
MIPS final score
75/100
Specialty distribution in Texas
How Otology & Neurotology Physician compares to other specialties among Texas providers
MIPS score not measured
CMS assigned a neutral 75/100 threshold
CMS did not publish any Quality, Cost, Promoting Interoperability, or Improvement Activities category score for this clinician. This administrative threshold is not comparable with the national average of clinicians whose MIPS score was measured.
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 | 1215910732 |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Otology & Neurotology Physician |
| Credentials | MD |
| Gender | Male |
| NPI Issued | 11/29/2005 |
CMS Quality Score (MIPS)
Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) scores from CMS, 2023 performance year.
75
Final Score
CMS neutral threshold · not measured
Reporting: Group practice
Hospital and facility affiliations
Facilities where Mark Nichols, 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.
Ent And Allergy Associates OF Texas PLLC
Houston, TX
Houston Ear Nose And Throat Clinic LLP
Houston, TX
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 Mark Nichols, MD. Source: openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Total received
$434
Largest payer
Integra LifeSciences Corporation
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 - Texas TMB 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 ~77K Texas medical licensees in 2023 - they are NOT specific to Mark Nichols, MD. To verify Mark Nichols, MD's current license status, search the TMB public license lookup directly, or check the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) verification service.
344
Total board actions, Texas 2023
Across 334 cases
4.47
Actions per 1,000 licensees
Texas statewide rate
probation
Most common action type
94 cases
TMB 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 Texas disciplinary trends page. Cross-checked against FSMB U.S. Medical Regulatory Trends.
Brand vs generic prescribing mix · Generic-heavy
Mark Nichols, MD - brand share 2.0%
Otology & Neurotology Physician average
2% brand-name claims vs 98% generic, on 1,560 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.
1,560
Total Claims
$49K
Total Drug Cost
516
Medicare Beneficiaries
Prescribing Breakdown
- 30-Day Fills
- 3,312.833
- Total Day Supply
- 89,685
- Brand vs Generic
- 2% brand / 98% generic
- Brand Drug Cost
- $3K
- Generic Drug Cost
- $45K
- Opioid Claims
- 30 (1.9% rate)
- Antibiotic Claims
- 208
Patient Demographics
- Average Patient Age
- 75.3 years
- Avg HCC Risk Score
- 1.19
- Gender Split
- 53% female / 47% male
- Age Distribution
- <65: 16, 65-74: 223, 75-84: 212, 85+: 65
Top Prescribed Drugs (Medicare Part D)
Top drugs by claim count for calendar year 2024. Based on Medicare Part D data only.
What Mark Nichols, MD prescribes most
Top Medicare Part D drugs by claim count, 2024
- Fluticasone Propio…
Fluticasone Propionate
345 claims
- Omeprazole
Omeprazole
174 claims
- Pantoprazole Sodium 102
Pantoprazole Sodium
102 claims
- Azelastine Hcl 94
Azelastine Hcl
94 claims
- Doxycycline Hyclate 69
Doxycycline Hyclate
69 claims
- Ofloxacin 69
Ofloxacin
69 claims
- Ipratropium Bromide 62
Ipratropium Bromide
62 claims
- Montelukast Sodium 52
Montelukast Sodium
52 claims
| Drug | Claims |
|---|---|
| Fluticasone Propionate | 345 |
| Omeprazole | 174 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 102 |
| Azelastine Hcl | 94 |
| Doxycycline Hyclate | 69 |
| Ofloxacin | 69 |
| Ipratropium Bromide | 62 |
| Montelukast Sodium | 52 |
| Amoxicillin-Clavulanate Potass Amoxicillin/Potassium Clav | 41 |
| Prednisone | 41 |
* Counts below 11 are suppressed by CMS for patient privacy. Generic names shown where available from CMS Part D data.
Otology & Neurotology Physician Overview
How Mark Nichols, MD fits within the Otology & Neurotology Physician landscape nationally.
344
Otology & Neurotology Physician Providers in US
47
States with Otology & Neurotology Physician
421
Avg Claims per Provider
Mark Nichols, MD's 1,560 claims are above the specialty average of 421.
Nationwide Otology & Neurotology Physician peers with similar MIPS or enrollment year
Two federal-record peer sets for Nichols, both outside Texas so the neighborhoods are not geographic containment.
Similar MIPS final score
Nearest same-specialty clinicians by CMS MIPS final score (75 here).
Same NPPES enumeration year (2005)
Same-specialty clinicians who entered the NPI registry in the same calendar year, outside this state.
Nearby Otology & Neurotology Physician Providers in Texas
Other clinicians with the same primary specialty enrolled in Texas, drawn from the same CMS NPPES roster as Nichols.
One of 28 Otology & Neurotology Physician providers enrolled in Texas, 5 are shown here.
Dr. Kaitlyn Aragon
MD
San Antonio, TX
Dr. Cherie Booth
MD
McKinney, TX
Dr. Ching-Yen Chang
MD
Bellaire, TX
Dr. Jonathan Choi
MD
Austin, TX
Dr. Ricardo Cristobal
M.D.
Fort Worth, TX
Compare Otology & Neurotology Physician nationally: see state-by-state distribution →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Mark Nichols, MD's specialty? ▼
Mark Nichols, MD specializes in Otology & Neurotology Physician and practices in Houston, Texas. Credentials: MD.
How much does Mark Nichols, MD prescribe under Medicare Part D? ▼
In 2024, Mark Nichols, MD wrote 1,560 Medicare Part D claims totaling $49K in drug costs for 516 beneficiaries.
What is Mark Nichols, MD's Medicare quality score? ▼
Mark Nichols, MD has a CMS MIPS Final Score of 75/100. CMS published no Quality, Promoting Interoperability, Improvement Activity or Cost score for this clinician, so the final score is the neutral performance threshold CMS assigns rather than a measured result. 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 Mark Nichols, MD located? ▼
Mark Nichols, MD is located at 915 GESSNER RD, Houston, TX, 77024. Phone: (713) 461-2626.
What is Mark Nichols, MD's NPI number? ▼
Mark Nichols, MD's National Provider Identifier (NPI) is 1215910732, issued on 11/29/2005.
Does Mark Nichols, MD prescribe more brand-name or generic drugs? ▼
Mark Nichols, MD's prescribing is 2% brand-name and 98% generic drugs by claim count, with $3K in brand drug costs.
Does Mark Nichols, MD prescribe opioids? ▼
Yes, Mark Nichols, MD had 30 opioid claims in 2024 with an opioid prescribing rate of 1.9%.
How many Otology & Neurotology Physician providers are there in the US? ▼
There are 344 Otology & Neurotology Physician providers across 47 states in the US. The average Otology & Neurotology Physician provider writes 421 Medicare Part D claims per year.
What drugs does Mark Nichols, MD prescribe most often? ▼
Based on 2024 Medicare Part D data, Mark Nichols, MD's most frequently prescribed drugs include Fluticasone Propionate, Omeprazole, Pantoprazole Sodium. This reflects Medicare Part D prescriptions only and does not include commercial insurance or other payer types.
Does Mark Nichols, MD accept Medicare? ▼
Mark Nichols, MD appears in CMS Medicare data with 1,560 Part D claims and 516 Medicare beneficiaries in 2024. Contact the provider's office directly to confirm current Medicare enrollment and accepted plans.
How can I verify Mark Nichols, MD's credentials? ▼
Mark Nichols, MD's NPI is 1215910732 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 (2024). 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 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.