1. How do I know if the information in a NPDB report is accurate?

The reporting entity is responsible for the accuracy of the information in a NPDB report. When the NPDB processes a report, a Notification of a Report in the Data Bank(s) is mailed to the subject. The subject should review the report for accuracy, including such information as current address and place of employment. If any information in a report is inaccurate, the subject must request that the reporting entity file a Correction to the report.

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2. How will a report affect my career?

The NPDB is meant to be a flagging system to alert users that a more comprehensive review is warranted whenever there is a medical malpractice payment history or adverse action report. Information contained in the NPDB is intended to direct discrete inquiry and should be used in conjunction with other sources of information. The NPDB is a resource to assist health care entities in conducting extensive, independent investigations of the practitioners they seek to license, hire, or wish to grant clinical privileges. According to credentialing organizations, an NPDB report may slow down the credentialing process, but it does not necessarily prohibit employment opportunities.

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3. How can I get a report changed or removed if it is incorrect?

Only the reporting entity can make changes to a report. If the information in a report is incorrect or incomplete, you should contact the reporting entity to ask for a Correction. If the reporting entity declines your request or fails to take action, you may add a statement to the report, initiate a formal dispute, or both.

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4. Who will see a report, and how will it be used?

Only State licensing boards, hospitals, and other health care entities are eligible to see NPDB information. Such entities use NPDB information with other relevant data for assessing the qualifications of the health care practitioners they seek to license or hire, or to whom they wish to grant clinical privileges.

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5. How is the information in the NPDB protected from unauthorized access/use?

Information reported to the HIPDB is considered confidential and may not be disclosed except as specified in the NPDB regulations. All applicable laws and regulations governing the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data have been followed.

All web based Users are required to sign user registration forms when applying for an account. By signing the form, users agree to comply with the standards established in the NPDB-HIPDB Guidebooks. When accessing the NPDB Web Site, users are informed that any unauthorized use of the NPDB information will subject them to fines and/or imprisonment under Federal Statute.

All internal users (responsible for the development, maintenance and support of the NPDB) are required to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements and Rules of Behavior Agreements. Any violation of these agreements will subject the internal users to fines and/or imprisonment under Federal Statute. In addition, all internal users are required to undergo an in-depth background investigation.

The NPDB system is located in a physically and environmentally secured facility. All access to the facility is restricted and continuously monitored.

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6. How long does a report remain in the NPDB?

Information reported in the NPDB is maintained permanently unless it is corrected or voided from the system. A Correction or Void may be submitted only by the reporting entity or at the discretion of the Secretary of HHS.

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7. Can I submit a statement about a report?

A health care practitioner may add a statement of up to 4,000 characters to any report using the Report Response Service. This statement is released with each report.

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8. How can I find out what is in the NPDB about me?

Any health care practitioner can request information in the NPDB on his or her own file by submitting an Individual Self-Query through the Self-Query Service. Information is gathered from both the NPDB and the Health Care Integrity and Protection Data Bank (HIPDB) to satisfy all self-query requests.

Any reports contained in the NPDB or the HIPDB will be sent to the practitioner. To assist the practitioner, a list of all the entities to whom the reported information has been disclosed also will be included with the self-query response.

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9. Which agencies are eligible to report to and/or query the NPDB?

The following are examples of health care entities that are eligible to report to and/or query the NPDB:

• A board of medical examiners or other State licensing board.
• A hospital.
• A health care entity that provides health care services and follows a formal peer review process to further quality health care.
• A professional society that follows a formal peer review process to further health care.

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10. Am I allowed to disclose the results of a self-query to another practitioner or provider?

Health care practitioners who obtain information about themselves from the NPDB are permitted to share that information with whomever they choose.

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11. Can a health care entity require that I give them the results of my self-query?

The response you received to a self-query is yours to do with as you wish. Various licensing, credentialing, and insuring organizations may require a copy of your self-query response before you may participate in their programs. Any arrangement between you and one of these organizations is voluntary. Even though HHS does not regulate such arrangements, it encourages health care entities to query the NPDB to prevent them from passing the querying cost to the practitioner and to preclude the falsification of reports. Hospitals are the only health care entities with mandatory requirements for querying the NPDB and hospitals cannot satisfy this requirement with a practitioner's self-query response.

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12. I have been sued for malpractice, and my insurance company wants to settle although I do not. Will the settlement be reported to the NPDB?

Yes. Medical malpractice payments are reportable to the NPDB. However, we understand that NPDB reports on medical malpractice claims settled for convenience are not a reflection on the professional competence or professional conduct of health care practitioners. Provisions are made in the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986, which state that "a payment in settlement of a medical malpractice action or claim shall not be construed as creating a presumption that medical malpractice has occurred." Therefore, reporting entities are required to provide detailed information describing the acts or omissions and injuries or illness upon which the medical malpractice action or claim was based. The following information is required: (1) patient age, (2) patient sex, (3) patient type, (4) patient's initial medical condition, (5) procedure performed, (6) claimant’s allegation, (7) outcome.

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