What is the National Provider Identifier?

The purpose of the National Provider Identifier (NPI) is to uniquely identify a health care provider in standard transactions, such as health care claims. NPI’s may also be used to identify health care providers on prescriptions, in internal files to link proprietary provider identification numbers and other information, in coordination of benefits between health plans, in patient medical record systems, in program integrity files, and in other ways. HIPAA requires that covered entities use NPI’s in standard transactions by the compliance dates. You are a covered entity if you conduct any electronic transaction with federal health programs.

Your individual NPI will be yours even if your employer files the application for it. The NPI does not change when you change practices or work in different settings. You will have only one individual NPI. It will be used by all health plans who are covered entities eliminating what are likely many provider numbers assigned by Medicare, Medicaid and private payers at present.