NPI registry status
Active
2026 NPPES data Pulmonary Disease Physician NPI 1164570156 MD
Verify on CMS → Viji Sankar, MD
Pulmonary Disease Physician in San Diego, California.
This profile is drawn from the federal National Provider Identifier Registry (CMS NPPES), which lists more than 7 million U.S. healthcare providers - including 9,323 in Pulmonary Disease 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
890
Medicare Part D claims · 147 beneficiaries · Pulmonary Disease Physician avg: 1K
Generic prescribing
56%
generic claims · 44% brand-name · higher generic rates reduce patient out-of-pocket costs
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
Viji Sankar, MD filed 890 Medicare Part D claims in 2023 as a Pulmonary Disease Physician in San Diego, California, prescribing 56% generic.
- 890
- Part D claims, 2023
- 56%
- 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.
Viji Sankar, MD's Medicare Part D volume vs every U.S. prescriber
Total Medicare Part D claims, 2023, across all CMS prescribers nationally
890 Top 27% higher than 73% of 1,370,886 prescribers
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.
Source CMS Medicare Part D Prescriber Public Use File · 2023
✓
Board certification likely (heuristic, not verified)
Viji Sankar, 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 Viji Sankar, MD?
Quality data not reportedPrimary specialty
Pulmonary Disease Physician
Medicare Part D claims
890 39% vs specialty avg
Specialty distribution in California
How Pulmonary Disease Physician compares to other specialties among California 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 Pulmonary Disease 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).
Viji Sankar, MD appears in the CMS NPPES registry as a Pulmonary Disease Physician provider holding MD credentials at 4647 ZION AVE, San Diego, CA, 92120, with a listed phone of (619) 528-5000. NPI 1164570156 was issued on 01/08/2007.
Medicare Part D records for calendar year 2023 show 890 prescription claims written by this provider, covering 147 Medicare beneficiaries and totaling roughly $510K in drug spend, split 44% brand-name and 56% generic by claim count.
Pulmonary Disease Physician is a mid-sized specialty nationwide, with 9,323 enrolled providers across 53 states and an average of 1,457 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 | 1164570156 |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Pulmonary Disease Physician |
| Credentials | MD |
| Gender | Female |
| NPI Issued | 01/08/2007 |
Hospital and facility affiliations
Facilities where Viji Sankar, 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.
Southern California Permanente Medical Group
San Marcos, CA
Affiliations sourced from CMS Doctors and Clinicians National Downloadable File; hospital ratings from CMS Hospital General Information dataset (cross-referenced by facility name + state).
License & disciplinary context - California MBC 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 ~150K California medical licensees in 2023 - they are NOT specific to Viji Sankar, MD. To verify Viji Sankar, MD's current license status, search the MBC public license lookup directly, or check the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) verification service.
576
Total board actions, California 2023
Across 556 cases
3.84
Actions per 1,000 licensees
California statewide rate
probation
Most common action type
186 cases
MBC 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 California disciplinary trends page. Cross-checked against FSMB U.S. Medical Regulatory Trends.
Brand vs generic prescribing mix · Above average
Viji Sankar, MD - brand share 44.0%
Pulmonary Disease Physician average
44% brand-name claims vs 56% generic, on 890 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.
890
Total Claims
$510K
Total Drug Cost
147
Medicare Beneficiaries
Prescribing Breakdown
- 30-Day Fills
- 1,959
- Total Day Supply
- 56,434
- Brand vs Generic
- 44% brand / 56% generic
- Brand Drug Cost
- $460K
- Generic Drug Cost
- $50K
- Antibiotic Claims
- 87
Patient Demographics
- Average Patient Age
- 76.9 years
- Avg HCC Risk Score
- 1.79
- Gender Split
- 67% female / 33% male
Top Prescribed Drugs (Medicare Part D)
Top drugs by claim count for calendar year 2023. Based on Medicare Part D data only.
What Viji Sankar, MD prescribes most
Top Medicare Part D drugs by claim count, 2023
- Wixela Inhub
Wixela Inhub
132 claims
- Albuterol Sulfate …
Albuterol Sulfate Hfa
111 claims
- Spiriva Respimat
Spiriva Respimat
106 claims
- Stiolto Respimat
Stiolto Respimat
72 claims
- Prednisone
Prednisone
55 claims
- Ipratropium Bromide 40
Ipratropium Bromide
40 claims
- Azithromycin 32
Azithromycin
32 claims
- Montelukast Sodium 32
Montelukast Sodium
32 claims
| Drug | Claims |
|---|---|
| Wixela Inhub Fluticasone Propion/Salmeterol | 132 |
| Albuterol Sulfate Hfa Albuterol Sulfate | 111 |
| Spiriva Respimat Tiotropium Bromide | 106 |
| Stiolto Respimat Tiotropium Br/Olodaterol Hcl | 72 |
| Prednisone | 55 |
| Ipratropium Bromide | 40 |
| Azithromycin | 32 |
| Montelukast Sodium | 32 |
| Fluticasone Propionate | 25 |
| Ofev Nintedanib Esylate | 21 |
* Counts below 11 are suppressed by CMS for patient privacy. Generic names shown where available from CMS Part D data.
Pulmonary Disease Physician Overview
How Viji Sankar, MD fits within the Pulmonary Disease Physician landscape nationally.
9,323
Pulmonary Disease Physician Providers in US
53
States with Pulmonary Disease Physician
1,457
Avg Claims per Provider
Viji Sankar, MD's 890 claims are below the specialty average of 1,457.
Nearby Pulmonary Disease Physician Providers in California
Other clinicians with the same primary specialty enrolled in California, drawn from the same CMS NPPES roster as Sankar.
Dr. Manoochehr Abadian Sharifabad
M.D.
Fountain Valley, CA
Dr. Mohamad Abdelfattah
MD
Fullerton, CA
Dr. Zainab Abdulsada
MBCHB
Sacramento, CA
Dr. Ayham Aboeed
M.D.
Bakersfield, CA
Dr. Babak Abrishami
D.O.
Los Angeles, CA
Compare Pulmonary Disease 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 California medical board, federal registration is not a license check. Credential verification guide
- Weigh a second option: compare this provider with a nearby Pulmonary Disease 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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Medical Specialties Explained
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Understanding Medicare Claims Data
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Viji Sankar, MD's specialty? ▼
Viji Sankar, MD specializes in Pulmonary Disease Physician and practices in San Diego, California. Credentials: MD.
How much does Viji Sankar, MD prescribe under Medicare Part D? ▼
In 2023, Viji Sankar, MD wrote 890 Medicare Part D claims totaling $510K in drug costs for 147 beneficiaries.
Where is Viji Sankar, MD located? ▼
Viji Sankar, MD is located at 4647 ZION AVE, San Diego, CA, 92120. Phone: (619) 528-5000.
What is Viji Sankar, MD's NPI number? ▼
Viji Sankar, MD's National Provider Identifier (NPI) is 1164570156, issued on 01/08/2007.
Does Viji Sankar, MD prescribe more brand-name or generic drugs? ▼
Viji Sankar, MD's prescribing is 44% brand-name and 56% generic drugs by claim count, with $460K in brand drug costs.
How many Pulmonary Disease Physician providers are there in the US? ▼
There are 9,323 Pulmonary Disease Physician providers across 53 states in the US. The average Pulmonary Disease Physician provider writes 1,457 Medicare Part D claims per year.
What drugs does Viji Sankar, MD prescribe most often? ▼
Based on 2023 Medicare Part D data, Viji Sankar, MD's most frequently prescribed drugs include Wixela Inhub, Albuterol Sulfate Hfa, Spiriva Respimat. This reflects Medicare Part D prescriptions only and does not include commercial insurance or other payer types.
Does Viji Sankar, MD accept Medicare? ▼
Viji Sankar, MD appears in CMS Medicare data with 890 Part D claims and 147 Medicare beneficiaries in 2023. Contact the provider's office directly to confirm current Medicare enrollment and accepted plans.
How can I verify Viji Sankar, MD's credentials? ▼
Viji Sankar, MD's NPI is 1164570156 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.
- 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.
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.