NPI registry status
Active
2026 NPPES data Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician NPI 1619960549 MD
Verify on CMS → Richard Clay, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician in Huntsville, Alabama.
This profile is drawn from the federal National Provider Identifier Registry (CMS NPPES), which lists more than 7 million U.S. healthcare providers - including 5,174 in Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular 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
121
Medicare Part D claims · 38 beneficiaries · Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician avg: 119
Industry payments
$443.75
8 payments · CMS Open Payments (Sunshine Act)
What the federal data shows
Richard Clay, MD filed 121 Medicare Part D claims in 2024 as a Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician in Huntsville, Alabama.
- 121
- Part D claims, 2024
- Likely
- board-certified (heuristic)
- ≥34th
- 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 Richard Clay, 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 1619960549), first enumerated 08/25/2005.
Source: CMS NPPES
- Reported
Medicare Part D participation
Filed 121 Medicare Part D prescription claims in the 2023 CMS public use file — indicates active Medicare prescribing participation.
Source: CMS Part D Prescriber PUF
- 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
1 CMS Care Compare hospital affiliation on record — practice footprint from the Doctors and Clinicians file.
Source: CMS Care Compare
- Reported
Industry payment transparency
$443.75 in reported industry payments (8 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 1619960549 · Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician
NPI-10 · ENUM-LEGACY · TAX-MID · RX-LIGHT · BOOK-THIN · PHOTO-ENUM
- NPI-10 1619960549
- ENUM-LEGACY 2005
- TAX-MID 5K Thoracic Surgery
- RX-LIGHT 121
- BOOK-THIN 54 in Alabama
- PHOTO-ENUM Scott Schubach, MD · 2005
Richard Clay, MD's Medicare Part D volume vs every U.S. prescriber
Total Medicare Part D claims, 2024, across all CMS prescribers nationally
121 ≥ 34th percentile 34% 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)
Richard Clay, MD practices in an ABMS-board-eligible specialty and shows active CMS Medicare participation + 1 hospital affiliation - 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 Richard Clay, MD?
Quality data not reportedPrimary specialty
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician
Medicare Part D claims
121 2% vs specialty avg
Specialty distribution in Alabama
How Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician compares to other specialties among Alabama 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 Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician. 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 | 1619960549 |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician |
| Credentials | MD |
| Gender | Male |
| NPI Issued | 08/25/2005 |
Hospital and facility affiliations
Facilities where Richard Clay, 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.
Springhill Physician Practices, Inc
Mobile, AL
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 Richard Clay, MD. Source: openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
Total received
$444
Largest payer
Abbott Laboratories
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 2024.
121
Total Claims
$4K
Total Drug Cost
38
Medicare Beneficiaries
Prescribing Breakdown
- 30-Day Fills
- 161
- Total Day Supply
- 3,889
- Generic Drug Cost
- $1K
- Opioid Claims
- 14 (11.6% rate)
Patient Demographics
- Average Patient Age
- 72.0 years
- Avg HCC Risk Score
- 1.61
- Gender Split
- 39% female / 61% male
Top Prescribed Drugs (Medicare Part D)
Top drugs by claim count for calendar year 2024. Based on Medicare Part D data only.
| Drug | Claims |
|---|---|
| Metoprolol Tartrate | 12 |
* Counts below 11 are suppressed by CMS for patient privacy. Generic names shown where available from CMS Part D data.
More Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician in AL →
All providers in Alabama →
Compare specialties →
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician Overview
How Richard Clay, MD fits within the Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician landscape nationally.
5,174
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician Providers in US
52
States with Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician
119
Avg Claims per Provider
Richard Clay, MD's 121 claims are above the specialty average of 119.
Nationwide Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician peers with similar MIPS or enrollment year
Two federal-record peer sets for Clay, both outside Alabama so the neighborhoods are not geographic containment.
Same NPPES enumeration year (2005)
Same-specialty clinicians who entered the NPI registry in the same calendar year, outside this state.
Nearby Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician Providers in Alabama
Other clinicians with the same primary specialty enrolled in Alabama, drawn from the same CMS NPPES roster as Clay.
One of 54 Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician providers enrolled in Alabama, 5 are shown here.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Richard Clay, MD's specialty? ▼
Richard Clay, MD specializes in Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician and practices in Huntsville, Alabama. Credentials: MD.
How much does Richard Clay, MD prescribe under Medicare Part D? ▼
In 2024, Richard Clay, MD wrote 121 Medicare Part D claims totaling $4K in drug costs for 38 beneficiaries.
Where is Richard Clay, MD located? ▼
Richard Clay, MD is located at 201 SIVLEY RD SW, Huntsville, AL, 35801. Phone: (256) 533-1077.
What is Richard Clay, MD's NPI number? ▼
Richard Clay, MD's National Provider Identifier (NPI) is 1619960549, issued on 08/25/2005.
Does Richard Clay, MD prescribe opioids? ▼
Yes, Richard Clay, MD had 14 opioid claims in 2024 with an opioid prescribing rate of 11.6%.
How many Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician providers are there in the US? ▼
There are 5,174 Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician providers across 52 states in the US. The average Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician provider writes 119 Medicare Part D claims per year.
What drugs does Richard Clay, MD prescribe most often? ▼
Based on 2024 Medicare Part D data, Richard Clay, MD's most frequently prescribed drugs include Metoprolol Tartrate. This reflects Medicare Part D prescriptions only and does not include commercial insurance or other payer types.
Does Richard Clay, MD accept Medicare? ▼
Richard Clay, MD appears in CMS Medicare data with 121 Part D claims and 38 Medicare beneficiaries in 2024. Contact the provider's office directly to confirm current Medicare enrollment and accepted plans.
How can I verify Richard Clay, MD's credentials? ▼
Richard Clay, MD's NPI is 1619960549 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.
- 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.