CMS to Physicians: Keep Provider Transaction Access Numbers Handy

Notice to physicians: Hold on to your Medicare Provider Transaction Access Numbers, or PTANs -- also known as legacy numbers -- which were to have been retired after the mandatory use of National Provider Identifier, or NPI, numbers began on May 23.

CMS has found another use for those old PTANs.

Effective March 1, 2009, physicians will have to provide their PTAN, their NPI and the last five digits of their tax identification number, or TIN, when making written or telephone inquiries to CMS' customer service or interactive voice response systems.

The pending implementation of new provider authentication requirements was announced in an August MLN Matters article (4-page PDF; About PDFs). MLN Matters is a series of online provider publications from CMS' Medicare Learning Network.

According to CMS, the enhanced provider authentication process will help safeguard Medicare beneficiaries' protected health information. When the new procedures are implemented next year, Medicare contractor systems will verify that the physician's PTAN, NPI and final five TIN digits are correct before giving the requester information on claims status, beneficiary eligibility and other provider-related questions.

"I think it's likely that those old numbers will quickly be forgotten, especially if a practice has changes in management and billing office staff," said Cynthia Hughes, C.P.C., an AAFP coding and compliance specialist. "A little advance planning now could save physicians a lot of frustration next spring," she added.

"If you have forgotten or discarded your PTAN, look up a past Medicare remittance advice, where the number should be clearly identified," said Hughes. "Jot the number down so that when new requirements are implemented next spring, that piece of information will be readily available."