Looking for a Prescriber Checkup Alternative?
ProPublica's Prescriber Checkup was a groundbreaking tool that made Medicare prescribing data accessible to the public. However, its data hasn't been updated since 2016. OpenPrescriber picks up where it left off — with current 2023 data, advanced fraud detection, and analytical tools that go far beyond basic provider lookup.
Why Data Currency Matters
Medicare prescribing patterns shift significantly year over year. Between 2016 and 2023, the opioid crisis transformed prescribing practices, new drug approvals reshaped treatment standards, and the COVID-19 pandemic altered healthcare delivery nationwide. Relying on 2016 data means missing seven years of changes — including providers who have since been excluded, retired, or significantly changed their prescribing behavior.
OpenPrescriber uses the most recent CMS Medicare Part D data (2023) and maintains five years of historical data (2019-2023) so you can see how patterns have evolved over time.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ProPublica Prescriber Checkup | OpenPrescriber |
|---|---|---|
| Most Recent Data | 2016 | 2023 |
| Providers Covered | ~1,000,000 | 1,380,665 |
| Total Drug Costs Analyzed | Not disclosed | $275.6 billion |
| Years of Trend Data | None | 5 years (2019-2023) |
| Specialty-Adjusted Comparisons | No | Yes — 205 specialties |
| Risk Scoring | No | 10-component scoring model |
| ML Fraud Detection | No | Trained on 281 confirmed cases |
| OIG Excluded Provider Alerts | No | 372 flagged providers |
| Opioid Co-Prescribing Detection | No | Yes |
| Analysis Articles | Limited | 29 in-depth articles |
| Interactive Tools | Provider lookup | 9 tools |
| State & Drug Pages | No | 62 states/territories, 500+ drugs |
| Cost | Free | Free |
What OpenPrescriber Adds
Machine Learning Fraud Detection
Our ML model was trained on 281 confirmed fraud cases from the OIG's List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE). It analyzes prescribing patterns across multiple dimensions to identify statistically anomalous behavior, flagging over 4,100 providers for further review.
Additionally, we cross-reference all active prescribers against the OIG LEIE database, identifying 372 excluded providers who still appear in current Medicare prescribing data.
Learn about our ML fraud detection methodology10-Component Risk Scoring
Every provider receives a composite risk score built from 10 specialty-adjusted components, including prescribing volume, cost per claim, brand-name preference, opioid rates, and controlled substance patterns. Scores are compared against peers in the same specialty, so a pain management specialist is measured against other pain management specialists — not all doctors.
Read the full scoring methodologyFive-Year Trend Analysis
Prescribing behavior in a single year can be misleading. OpenPrescriber tracks every provider across five years of CMS data (2019-2023), so you can see whether a provider's opioid prescribing is increasing, their costs are rising, or their patterns are changing over time.
Trend data is available at the provider, state, drug, and specialty level — giving context that a single snapshot cannot provide.
Dangerous Combination Detection
OpenPrescriber flags providers who co-prescribe opioids and benzodiazepines at high rates — a combination the FDA has specifically warned against due to increased risk of overdose and death. This analysis is not available in other prescriber lookup tools.
View dangerous combination analysisHow to Use OpenPrescriber
Search for a Provider
Look up any of 1,380,665 Medicare Part D prescribers by name, NPI, state, or specialty.
Search providers →Explore Risk Scores
Browse providers ranked by composite risk score, filter by state and specialty.
Open Risk Explorer →View Flagged Providers
See providers flagged by ML fraud detection and OIG excluded provider cross-reference.
View flagged providers →Browse by State or Drug
Explore prescribing patterns, costs, and trends for all 62 states/territories and 500+ drugs.
Browse states →Who Uses OpenPrescriber
- Patients and caregivers researching their provider's prescribing patterns, drug costs, and how they compare to specialty peers.
- Journalists and researchers investigating healthcare fraud, opioid prescribing trends, and Medicare spending at the provider, state, or national level.
- Healthcare compliance professionals monitoring prescribing outliers, excluded provider alerts, and dangerous drug combination patterns.
- Policy analysts tracking five-year prescribing trends, brand-vs-generic utilization, and state-level cost variations across $275.6 billion in annual drug spending.
Go Deeper
Beyond provider lookup, OpenPrescriber publishes in-depth analysis on prescribing trends, drug costs, and healthcare fraud indicators.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ProPublica Prescriber Checkup still updated?
ProPublica Prescriber Checkup last updated its data in 2016 using CMS Medicare Part D data from that year. The tool remains online but has not been refreshed with newer data. OpenPrescriber uses the most current CMS data available (2023) and includes five years of trend data from 2019 to 2023.
What replaced ProPublica Prescriber Checkup?
While there is no official replacement, OpenPrescriber offers similar provider lookup functionality with significantly more current data (2023 vs 2016), plus additional features like ML-based fraud detection, 10-component risk scoring, opioid co-prescribing analysis, and five-year trend tracking for 1,380,665 providers.
How is OpenPrescriber different from ProPublica Prescriber Checkup?
OpenPrescriber covers 1,380,665 providers with 2023 data and includes specialty-adjusted risk scoring, machine learning fraud detection trained on 281 confirmed fraud cases, OIG excluded provider cross-referencing, opioid and benzodiazepine co-prescribing detection, and five years of trend data. ProPublica Prescriber Checkup provides basic provider lookup with 2016 data for approximately 1 million providers.
Is OpenPrescriber free to use?
Yes. OpenPrescriber is completely free and built on publicly available CMS Medicare Part D data. All provider profiles, risk scores, analysis articles, and interactive tools are accessible without registration or payment.
Can I look up a specific doctor on OpenPrescriber?
Yes. Use the search page to find any of the 1,380,665 Medicare Part D prescribers by name, NPI number, state, or specialty. Each provider profile includes prescribing patterns, cost data, risk indicators, and five-year trend charts.
Ready to Explore?
OpenPrescriber is free, requires no registration, and provides the most current Medicare Part D prescribing data available. Search for any provider, explore risk scores, or browse by state and drug.