What is a NPDB?

NPDB (standing for National Practitioner Data Bank) is a centralized confidential web database consisting of reports on healthcare practitioners, service providers, and suppliers who have records of medical malpractice and adverse actions. These information on doctors and other medical practitioners are submitted by the hospitals, medical malpractice insurance companies and state licensing boards and governed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Usually, being listed in this list is not well-received by employers.
The NPDB list was started in 1986 by the Congress to prevent practitioners with malpractice and error records to move from state to state without disclosing their bad records. This led to improved hiring in medical field as employers were able to identify qualified medical professionals much easily from the amateurish ones.
Although NPDB check is not the only method for verifying a medical practitioner's credentials, it is one of trusted sanction check methods opted by employers in the USA>.
The NPDB list was started in 1986 by the Congress to prevent practitioners with malpractice and error records to move from state to state without disclosing their bad records. This led to improved hiring in medical field as employers were able to identify qualified medical professionals much easily from the amateurish ones.
Although NPDB check is not the only method for verifying a medical practitioner's credentials, it is one of trusted sanction check methods opted by employers in the USA>.
Who can search in the NPDB?
The NPDB is a confidential record and is prohibited by law from disclosing information to the general public. Only authorized users a allowed to access the record and make a search. A medical practitioner can search for his own records. Hospitals and state licensing boards are authorized to make a query in this record.
A hospital is required to request information on a health practitioner before hiring them and in most states, this needs to be done every 2 years among current staffs.
NPDB Legislation and Regulation
The three major laws that govern the NPDB are:
- Title IV of the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986 (HCQIA), Public Law 99-660
- Section 1921 of the Social Security Act
- Section 1128E of the Social Security Act
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