How do I Find a Doctor Using an NPI Number?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), established in 1996, requires the use of a unique identifying system for health care providers across the nation. In turn, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services implemented the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) to produce the unique numbers required for compliance. Those numbers, known as National Provider Identifier (NPI) numbers, require assignment to all health care providers, from individual doctors in private practice to large health care organizations.

Things You'll Need

• Doctor's NPI number

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Instructions

• 1

  Visit nppes.cms.hhs.gov, the NPI registry home page, and read over the information provided when you get to that page (see References). You can conduct two types of searches, either for individual providers or for organizational providers. Underneath the heading "Search the NPI Registry" click on either "Individual Providers" or "Organizational Providers."

• 2

  Read over the information provided on the NPI Registry Search page that loads on your screen. Below that short paragraph, you will see a form where you can input information to conduct your search. Type in your doctor's NPI number into the field labeled "NPI." If you have any other information such as the doctor's first name, last name, or address, input that information into the respective fields. Click the "Search" button once you have entered all the information you have.

• 3

  Read the information that loads onto the screen in front of you. If your have found your doctor, you will see a screen outlining some basic information regarding that doctor. You will find his current provider address, a phone number to contact that provider's office, any other associate provider identities and type of medicine the doctor practices.

  If the NPI search did not return any results, you may want to double-check your information for accuracy and try again. Otherwise, the doctor many no longer practice medicine.