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NPDB 101 Webinar
The NPDB 101 Webinar was held on November 19, 2024.
Watch the recording for the Webinar Exit Image
(video - 1:22:03)
Event Materials
- Presentation Slides (PDF - 1.83 MB)
Q&As
- What is the intended use of NPDB reports?
NPDB information is intended to be used in combination with information from other sources in making employment, certification, licensure, clinical privileges, affiliation, or other decisions. Entities that are authorized to report to or query the NPDB include medical malpractice payers, hospitals and other health care entities, professional societies, health plans, peer review organizations, private accreditation organizations, and certain federal and state agencies. In addition, health care practitioners and health care organizations may request information concerning themselves from the NPDB. - What actions are reported to the NPDB?
Reports in the NPDB are records of actions taken by authorized organizations regarding health care practitioners, health care providers, and health care suppliers including:- Medical malpractice payments
- Adverse clinical privileges actions
- Adverse professional society membership actions
- State licensure and certification actions
- Federal licensure and certification actions
- Negative actions or findings by a peer review organization
- Negative actions or findings by a private accreditation organization
- Exclusions from participation in a Federal or state health care program (including Medicare and Medicaid)
- Other adjudicated actions or decisions
- Health care-related civil judgments and criminal convictions in Federal or state court
- Does the NPDB offer educational guides on its website?
Yes. The online Help Center includes infographics about the NPDB and specific topics including practitioners, querying, reporting, registration and more in a visual, easy-to-understand format. More detailed information is available in the NPDB Guidebook. - How long does it take for a report to be listed in the NPDB once it has been submitted?
Reports are typically listed within an hour but may take as long as a couple of days depending on internal circumstances. - We realized we did not submit a report, what should we do?
You must submit the report. Even though an entity has 30 calendar days to report an action, if it realizes it failed to submit a reportable action within 30 days, it should do so immediately. - When do reports expire in the NPDB?
A report is permanently stored in the NPDB unless it is corrected or voided by the reporting entity or by the NPDB as a result of the Dispute Resolution process. - Can an entity query on a practitioner prior to the practitioner signing a formal contract for employment?
Yes, an entity can query on someone before signing a contract, but the practitioner must have initiated the process of entering into an employment or affiliation relations. An entity can query for the following reasons - privileges, employment, professional review activities, licensing or certification, fraud and abuse investigations, certification to participate in a government program. - We queried the NPDB but did not receive a report that we thought we should have. What should we do?
If, based on a query response, you believe that a reportable action was not submitted to the NPDB, you should either go to the Subjects Queried page (or the Multiple-Name Query Responses page for bundled responses), click the Reporting Compliance link, and provide the information regarding the missing report or call the NPDB Customer Service Center and provide the information. - How do the available types of queries compare and contrast with each other?
A One-Time Query returns results for a practitioner up to the moment of query processing. If a new report is submitted on the practitioner after the query is processed, the organization is not notified. If the organization enrolls that same practitioner in Continuous Query, the organization receives the same initial results as a One-Time Query, but the NPDB also sends a notification if any new reports are submitted during the 1-year enrollment period. We offer a video that summarizes the Continuous Query process. A Self-Query is when a practitioner queries on themself. There is no continuous self-query option available currently, so all self-queries are one-time queries. Additional information is available on our website. - Does it make sense to place a practitioner on Continuous Query if we only pull reports on initial appointment and reappointment?
Yes, the organization receives any information on that practitioner they would have received with One-Time Query, but the NPDB also sends a notification if any new reports are submitted during the 1-year enrollment period. - If a health care practitioner pays a medical malpractice claim out-of-pocket, is it reported?
Individuals are not required to report to the NPDB payments they make for their own benefit. Thus, if a practitioner or other individual makes a medical malpractice payment out of personal funds, the payment should not be reported. However, a professional corporation or other entity composed of a sole practitioner that makes a payment for the benefit of a named practitioner must report that payment to the NPDB. Additional details are available in the guidebook. - Is there a minimum payment amount for a medical malpractice payment to be reportable?
No. The payment of any amount in a situation that otherwise meets NPDB reporting requirements must be reported. Entities must submit medical malpractice payment reports within 30 calendar days of when the payment was made. - Are adverse actions taken against non-licensed staff members reportable?
Yes. The NPDB collects information on practitioners who are non-licensed. The NPDB definition of a health care practitioner includes practitioners who are certified but do not hold a license as well as individuals who hold themselves out to be licensed.
