Definition of NPI Data

National Provider Identifier (NPI) number is an identifying number given to health care providers, companies dealing with health plans and health care clearinghouses. NPI numbers are a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Administrative Simplification Standard aimed at simplifying the control of electronic data for administration of health insurance claims and payments in the USA.

NPI Numbers

• The number given to companies and organizations covered under the HIPAA Act does not hold any information in itself. The number is a 10-position, intelligence-free numeric identifier. This means that it has 10 digits, which are used uniquely to identify the business or organization it is associated with, but holds no other data such a area or company type.

NPI Data

• The data held in the NPI database, created during the implementation of the HIPAA Act, includes information about covered health care providers including addresses, contact numbers, ownership and type of company.

Who Has NPI Numbers

• Standards that have been agreed upon by Health and Human Services (HHS) under the HIPAA Act mean NPI numbers apply to any business that is a health care provider that conducts transactions in electronic form, provides health plans or is a health care clearinghouse.