Prescriber Checkup

Prescriber Checkup

The Doctors and Drugs in Medicare Part D

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Prescriber Checkup » North Carolina » Asheville

BRUCE ARMSTRONG MD

1 DOCTORS PARK

Asheville | North Carolina | 28801

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At A Glance: This Prescriber in 2015

Urology

Self-Reported Primary Specialty

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3,410Medicare Part D Prescriptions Filled, Including Refills

Rank: 17 out of 266

$294K Total Retail Price of All Prescriptions

Rank: 32 out of 266

690 Patients Receiving at Least One Drug in Part D
90% Patients 65 Years and Older

12% Subsidized Claims for Low-Income Patients

How Does This Prescriber Compare to Peers?

In the same specialty and state. Caveats »

Drugs That Present Special Risks
Costs of Prescribing
higher than average Average for
this specialty
in North Carolina lower than average

Antipsychotics

This provider prescribed antipsychotics to at least one but fewer than 11 patients who are 65 and older, so Medicare redacted the exact figure. Comparisons are not shown.

More resources »

Antibiotics

47% of this provider’s 690 patients filled at least one prescription for an antibiotic drug, compared to an average of 41%.

More resources »

Risky Drugs for Seniors

8% of this provider’s 624 patients 65 and older filled at least one prescription for a potentially inappropriate drug, compared to an average of 10%.

More resources »

Opioids

17% of this provider’s 690 patients filled at least one prescription for an opioid, compared to an average of 13%.

More resources »

Brand Name Drugs

15% of this provider’s prescriptions were for brand-name drugs, compared to an average of 23%.

Prescription Price

$86 was the average price of a prescription from this provider, compared to $94 among peers.

Prescriptions per Patient

5 is the average number of prescriptions (including refills) per patient, compared to an average of 5.


How This Provider’s Patients Compare

Doctors often say their patients are sicker or more complex than those of their peers. The measure displayed below, used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, takes into account patients’ characteristics to estimate whether they are expected to have above-average Medicare spending. It considers patients’ age, sex, diagnoses from the past year and other factors. This provider’s score below takes into account all patients.

This Provider's History

A comparison of this provider’s prescribing in Part D since 2012. All years may not be shown if there is insufficient data.

Cost of Claims

$98K

2012

$144K

2013

$153K

2014

$294K

2015

Number of Claims

2,388

2012

2,850

2013

3,080

2014

3,410

2015

This Prescriber's Drugs

The table below list this provider’s drugs, the number of prescriptions and how many went to seniors. Drugs are ranked by volume and compared with the rank for all providers in the same specialty and state. The list below includes only those drugs for which this provider wrote 50 or more prescriptions.

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O

An opioid drug. More » Prescription opioids (painkillers) can help alleviate certain kinds of pain in the short term but carry serious health risks.

A

An antibiotic drug. More » Used to treat bacterial infections but are often prescribed incorrectly to treat viral infections, such as chest colds or the flu.

P

An antipsychotic drug. More » Antipsychotics are frequently given to dementia patients, though it increases their risk of death.

R

A risky drug for seniors. More » The American Geriatrics Society has said this drug is "potentially dangerous" for seniors and might be inappropriate.

10

This provider is among the top 10 prescribers of this drug in the country.

This provider’s prescriptions for this drug were for more days than those of peers. More » Because of this, his or her prescription count may be lower.

This provider’s prescriptions for this drug were for fewer days than those of peers. More » Because of this, his or her prescription count may be higher.

This Drug's Rank
Drug Name Total Prescriptions Filled with Refills Prescriptions
to 65+ 		Patients Receiving this Drug Category For this Prescriber For this Prescriber's Peers
TAMSULOSIN HCL

Tamsulosin is used in men t... +

Tamsulosin is used in men to treat the symptoms of an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH) which include difficulty urinating (hesitation, dribbling, weak stream, and incomplete bladder emptying), painful urination, and urinary frequency and urgency. Source: National Library of Medicine

768

prescriptions, 23% of all prescriptions

 719

prescriptions.

 213

patients, 31% of all patients

 1 1
FINASTERIDE

Treats an enlarged prostate... +

Treats an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH) in men and causes hair growth in male pattern baldness. Source: National Library of Medicine

423

prescriptions, 12% of all prescriptions

 423

prescriptions.

 106

patients, 15% of all patients

 2 2
CIPROFLOXACIN HCL

Ciprofloxacin is used to tr... +

Ciprofloxacin is used to treat or prevent certain infections caused by bacteria. Source: National Library of Medicine

277

prescriptions, 8% of all prescriptions

 265

prescriptions.

 152

patients, 22% of all patients

 A 3 3
SULFAMETHOXAZOLE-TRIMETHOPRIM

Treating infections caused ... +

Treating infections caused by certain bacteria. Source: National Library of Medicine

244

prescriptions, 7% of all prescriptions

 215

prescriptions.

 111

patients, 16% of all patients

 A 4 6
OXYBUTYNIN CHLORIDE

Oxybutynin is used to contr... +

Oxybutynin is used to control urgent, frequent, or uncontrolled urination in people who have overactive bladder (a condition in which the bladder muscles have uncontrollable spasms), spina bifida (a disability that occurs when the spinal cord does not close properly before birth), or other conditions that affect the bladder muscles. Source: National Library of Medicine

156

prescriptions, 5% of all prescriptions

 140

prescriptions.

 50

patients, 7% of all patients

 5 9
DOXAZOSIN MESYLATE

Doxazosin (Cardura, Cardura... +

Doxazosin (Cardura, Cardura XL) is used in men to treat the symptoms of an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH), which include difficulty urinating (hesitation, dribbling, weak stream, and incomplete bladder emptying), painful urination, and urinary frequency and urgency. Source: National Library of Medicine

153

prescriptions, 4% of all prescriptions

 153

prescriptions.

 44

patients, 6% of all patients

 6 18
POTASSIUM CITRATE ER

Potassium citrate is used t... +

Potassium citrate is used to treat a kidney stone condition called renal tubular acidosis. Source: National Library of Medicine

105

prescriptions, 3% of all prescriptions

 63

prescriptions.

 20

patients, 3% of all patients

 7 17
CEPHALEXIN

Treats bacterial infections... +

Treats bacterial infections. Source: National Library of Medicine

89

prescriptions, 3% of all prescriptions

 84

prescriptions.

 42

patients, 6% of all patients

 A 8 11
NITROFURANTOIN

Treats or prevents urinary ... +

Treats or prevents urinary tract infections caused by bacteria. Source: National Library of Medicine

84

prescriptions, 2% of all prescriptions

 70

prescriptions.

 32

patients, 5% of all patients

 A R 9 16
OXYCODONE-ACETAMINOPHEN

Used to relieve moderate to... +

Used to relieve moderate to severe pain. Source: National Library of Medicine

75

prescriptions, 2% of all prescriptions

 64

prescriptions.

 61

patients, 9% of all patients

 O 10 19
AVODART

Treats problems with urinat... +

Treats problems with urination caused by an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH). Source: National Library of Medicine

50

prescriptions, 1% of all prescriptions

 50

prescriptions.

 11

patients, 2% of all patients

 11 8
About This Data

Prescribing data from Medicare’s prescription drug benefit, known as Part D, was compiled and released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency that oversees the program. The data for 2015 includes more than 1.4 billion prescriptions written by nearly 1.4 million doctors, nurses and other providers. This database lists about 447,000 of those providers who wrote 50 or more prescriptions for at least one drug that year. More than three-fourths of these prescriptions went to patients 65 and older; the rest were for disabled patients. Methodology »

Incorrect Info?

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Caveats
  • No comparisons are shown if there are fewer than 20 prescribers in the state share this specialty.
  • Comparisons do not take into account the medical conditions of patients. Medications for certain conditions do not have generic alternatives, so patients would receive more expensive brand name drugs.
  • This provider's address and specialty information was last updated on Oct. 24, 2016.
  • Comparisons are based on each provider’s current address, not necessarily where he or she worked during the time period covered in this database.
  • In rare circumstances, providers' prescription tallies may be inflated. Sometimes providers are credited with prescriptions written by colleagues (this happens in long-term care facilities) or are victims of fraud involving theft of their provider number.