Methodology & data sources
Covered Paincare lists Medicare-relevant pain care and senior-care options using public government data wherever possible. This page explains exactly where each kind of record comes from, what the confidence ratings mean, and how to correct an error.
Current directory source dates
- CMS nursing homes
- August 1, 2026
- Imported facility directories
- July 4, 2026
- CMS Medicare clinicians
- September 15, 2026
Data sources
CMS Doctors & Clinicians (National Downloadable File)
Every Medicare-enrolled clinician with a primary specialty of Pain Management, Interventional Pain Management, or Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation — including practice locations, phone numbers, telehealth availability, and whether the clinician accepts Medicare assignment.
View the dataset at data.cms.gov ↗CMS nursing home data (Care Compare provider information & ownership files)
Medicare-certified skilled nursing facilities with CMS star ratings (overall, health inspection, staffing, quality measures), certified beds, ownership type, chain affiliation, and — where available from CMS ownership filings — administrator and medical director names.
View the dataset at data.cms.gov ↗Public senior-care directories (imported records)
Facility records parsed from publicly available directories, including health-plan facility directories and county/state senior-care listings. These records carry a confidence rating (below) and are matched to CMS records by provider number (CCN) where possible.
Confidence ratings
Every listing shows a confidence badge describing how reliable we believe the underlying record is:
- High confidence — the record comes directly from CMS data, or was parsed cleanly and matched to a CMS record by provider number.
- Medium confidence — the record was imported from a public directory and could not be fully verified against CMS data. Details may be outdated.
Service categories
Clinician listings use the primary specialty each clinician reported to Medicare. For imported facility records, care categories (such as pain management or rehabilitation) are inferred from the facility's type and name and should be confirmed with the facility — categorization is a starting point for research, not a guarantee that a service is offered.
Updates & corrections
CMS-sourced records are refreshed from the latest CMS public releases (CMS updates these on a monthly to quarterly cadence). If you represent a facility or practice and something is wrong, use the “Claim this listing” link on the listing page or the Get Help form — corrections are reviewed before publishing.
Paid placement
Facilities can pay for a listing. Paid listings are labelled Sponsored wherever they appear, and featured listings are placed at the top of the lists they appear in. Advertising is sold at a flat rate for a fixed period — never per enquiry, per call, or per admission.
Paying changes placement and nothing else. It does not change a facility’s CMS data, star ratings, inspection history, or confidence rating, does not affect whether a facility appears in results or in the underlying data, and cannot remove a facility or its ratings from the directory. Every listing, paid or not, comes from the same public sources described above.
A Verified badge means someone at the facility claimed the listing and we confirmed they represent it. It is not an endorsement, a quality rating, or a statement about Medicare participation.
Important disclaimers
Covered Paincare is an independent directory provided for research purposes. It is not connected with or endorsed by the U.S. government or the federal Medicare program, and it is not medical advice. Provider participation, network status, and services change — always verify directly with the provider and your plan before scheduling care.
Frequently asked questions
Where does Covered Paincare get its data?
Primarily from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): the Doctors & Clinicians national file for pain-care clinicians and the nursing home Care Compare and ownership files for skilled nursing facilities. Additional facility records are imported from publicly available senior-care directories.
What do the confidence ratings mean?
High confidence means the record came directly from CMS data or was parsed cleanly and matched to a CMS record. Medium confidence means the record was imported from a public directory and could not be fully verified against CMS data. Always verify details directly with the provider.
How often is the data updated?
CMS-sourced records are refreshed from the latest CMS public data releases, which CMS updates on a monthly to quarterly cadence. Imported directory records are refreshed when their source documents are re-processed.
How do I correct a listing?
Facility and practice representatives can use the "Claim this listing" link on any listing page, or contact us through the Get Help form. Corrections are reviewed before publishing.