How to Decode NPI Numbers

The National Provider Identifier is a unique 10-digit number for health care providers. An NPI's purpose is to identify a health care provider in standard transactions, such as health care claims, and its use was adopted under provisions of the Administrative Simplification provision of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. You can easily learn the identity of an individual physician or organizational health care provider by looking up the NPI number in the U.S. government's database.

Instructions

• 1

  Go to the National Plan & Provider Enumeration System's NPI Registry search website (see References).

• 2

  Click on "Search for an Individual Provider" if you think the NPI number is for one person, or click on "Search for an Organizational Provider" if you think the NPI number is for an organization. Often the same NPI number will provide a search result whether typed into the "Individual Provider" or "Organizational Provider" search page. If searching by individual doesn't yield a result, search by organization.

• 3

  Type the NPI number in the "NPI" box.

• 4

  Click on "Search."

• 5

  The name of the person or organization corresponding to the NPI number will appear in the results, along with contact information.