Prescriber Checkup

Prescriber Checkup

The Doctors and Drugs in Medicare Part D

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Prescriber Checkup » New Jersey » Edgewater

LUCIA ALVAREZ MD

103 RIVER RD FL 2

Edgewater | New Jersey | 07020

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At A Glance: This Prescriber in 2015

Pulmonary Disease

Self-Reported Primary Specialty

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1,774Medicare Part D Prescriptions Filled, Including Refills

Rank: 137 out of 284

$221K Total Retail Price of All Prescriptions

Rank: 201 out of 284

265 Patients Receiving at Least One Drug in Part D
91% Patients 65 Years and Older

43% 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 New Jersey lower than average

Antipsychotics

0% of this provider’s 240 patients who are 65 and older filled at least one prescription for an antipsychotic drug, compared to an average of 0%.

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Antibiotics

30% of this provider’s 265 patients filled at least one prescription for an antibiotic drug, compared to an average of 27%.

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Risky Drugs for Seniors

5% of this provider’s 240 patients 65 and older filled at least one prescription for a potentially inappropriate drug, compared to an average of 8%.

More resources »

Opioids

0% of this provider’s 265 patients filled at least one prescription for an opioid, compared to an average of 5%.

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Brand Name Drugs

40% of this provider’s prescriptions were for brand-name drugs, compared to an average of 50%.

Prescription Price

$125 was the average price of a prescription from this provider, compared to $240 among peers.

Prescriptions per Patient

7 is the average number of prescriptions (including refills) per patient, compared to an average of 10.


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

$227K

2012

$218K

2013

$224K

2014

$221K

2015

Number of Claims

1,508

2012

1,802

2013

1,888

2014

1,774

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
MONTELUKAST SODIUM

Montelukast is used to prev... +

Montelukast is used to prevent wheezing, difficulty breathing, chest tightness, and coughing caused by asthma. Source: National Library of Medicine

658

prescriptions, 37% of all prescriptions

 592

prescriptions.

 186

patients, 70% of all patients

 1 3
SPIRIVA

Prevents the symptoms of br... +

Prevents the symptoms of bronchospasm caused by emphysema, chronic bronchitis, or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Source: National Library of Medicine

145

prescriptions, 8% of all prescriptions

 128

prescriptions.

 33

patients, 12% of all patients

 2 1
ADVAIR DISKUS

Prevents symptoms of asthma... +

Prevents symptoms of asthma or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Source: National Library of Medicine

115

prescriptions, 6% of all prescriptions

 110

prescriptions.

 22

patients, 8% of all patients

 3 2
PROAIR HFA

Treats or prevents bronchos... +

Treats or prevents bronchospasm in patients with asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, and other lung diseases. Source: National Library of Medicine

112

prescriptions, 6% of all prescriptions

 95

prescriptions.

 34

patients, 13% of all patients

 4 4
NASONEX

Treats or prevents the symp... +

Treats or prevents the symptoms of seasonal (short-term) and perennial (year-round) allergies (hay fever), such as stuffy or runny nose, sneezing, and watery eyes. Source: National Library of Medicine

103

prescriptions, 6% of all prescriptions

 90

prescriptions.

 36

patients, 14% of all patients

 5 63
METHYLPREDNISOLONE

Treats asthma, allergic rea... +

Treats asthma, allergic reactions, inflammation, flare-ups of ongoing illnesses, and many other medical problems. Source: National Library of Medicine

85

prescriptions, 5% of all prescriptions

 80

prescriptions.

 54

patients, 20% of all patients

 6 46
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?

If you are a provider and you believe your address is incorrect, check the listing you created on the National Provider Identifier registry. If you change your listing, send a note to [email protected] and we will update your information. If you have other questions about this data, send a note to [email protected].

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 Nov. 3, 2014.
  • 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.