Musc Physicians, 171 Ashley Ave, Charleston: NPI Registry Record
What the registry record says
- NPI number
- 1477604403
- Legal business name
- University Medical Associates of the Medical University of South Carol
- Registered trading name
- Musc Physicians
- Primary registered specialty
- Ophthalmology (207W00000X)
- Other registered specialties
- Optometrist
- Non eye care codes on the record
- 3 additional taxonomy codes outside optometry and ophthalmology
- Practice location
- 171 Ashley Ave
Charleston, SC 29425-8908 - Phone on the record
- (843) 792-1414
- NPI issued
- January 16, 2007
- Record last updated by the practice
- December 4, 2024
- Registry status
- NPI registry record, active as reported by CMS October 2026
- Metro area
- Charleston-North Charleston, SC
- County
- Charleston County
- Duplicate registrations at this address
- 1 additional NPI for the same name and address, folded into this record
- Location precision
- Street address matched by the US Census geocoder
Reading this record
The practice bills under the legal name University Medical Associates of the Medical University of South Carol and registered Musc Physicians as its trading name, so an insurance statement may show a name that does not match the sign on the door. Beyond the primary code the record carries Optometrist, which is the registry's own signal that the practice covers more than routine work. The entry was refreshed in December 2024, putting it among the 18 of 139 Charleston-North Charleston records updated in 2024 or later, so the contact details are more likely to be current than most of this metro.
For local context: Charleston holds 45 registered eye care practices in this snapshot, 32 of them optometry and 13 ophthalmology, in ZIP codes including 29425. 12 of them took an NPI before this practice did. The closest is Musc Physicians in Charleston, 0.0 miles away.
None of this is a licensing check. CMS issues an NPI so a provider can be identified in billing transactions, and states plainly that issuance does not ensure or validate that the holder is licensed or credentialed. The South Carolina boards hold the licensing record, and the practice itself is the only source for what it charges today.
Nearest registered practices
133 other registered eye care practices sit within 25 miles of this address, a radius that does not stop at the metro boundary. Inside the Charleston-North Charleston metro itself there are 139, 44 of them elsewhere in Charleston. The closest 5 are below, measured straight line between registered addresses.
| Practice | City | Registered as | Distance | Phone on record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Musc Physicians | Charleston | Ophthalmology | 0.0 mi | (843) 792-8100 |
| Eyecare Physicians & Surgeons LLC | Charleston | Ophthalmology | 0.2 mi | (843) 722-7705 |
| Patrick H. Dennis, Jr.,md | Charleston | Ophthalmology | 0.3 mi | (843) 577-2020 |
| Jackson Davenport Inc. | Charleston | Optometry | 0.6 mi | (843) 722-4416 |
| See Inc | Charleston | Optometry | 0.6 mi | (843) 722-6101 |
Distances are straight line between registered practice locations, not driving distance. Records placed at a ZIP centroid rather than a matched street address are excluded from this comparison.
What to expect to pay at an ophthalmology practice like this
The NPI registry holds no prices, so nothing here is a quote from Musc Physicians, and ophthalmology practices do not publish fee schedules. Customers report paying $150 to $300 or more at this kind of practice without insurance, which is a reported band rather than a published price. The nearest published figure is $95, the median starting fee across the 1,280 US retail optical stores that print one (30 September 2026), and Medicare pays $149.64 for a comprehensive new-patient exam (CPT 92004). Ask Musc Physicians for its self-pay price.
Ophthalmology visits are usually medical rather than routine, which changes who pays: medical insurance and Medicare Part B cover a medically necessary exam, while a routine refraction for glasses is normally not covered. Ask whether the visit will be billed as medical or routine before you book, and compare with the 109 optometry practices on the Charleston-North Charleston page if you only need a prescription.