CMS UNVEILS NPI DATABASE

If all had gone according to plan, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) would now be available. The dissemination notice, published in the May 30, 2007, Federal Register, came a week after the initial deadline for registering for a National Provider Identifier (NPI) number.

The notice outlined the basic data that will be available in the NPPES system. While the NPI numbers were to take effect in May 23, 2007, the deadline was delayed after providers and insurance companies complained that they needed more time to get an NPI number and test their billing system. CMS has given provider and payer organizations an opportunity to develop a 12-month contingency plan to comply with the NPI rule.