National Provider Identifier: Current and Future State

Michael Apfel, CIPP/CIPPG, Chief Privacy Officer, Truman Medical Centers, Kansas City, MO, discusses the short- and long-term impact the NPI will have on healthcare and what covered entities should consider beyond the May 23, 2007 compliance date. Included in the discussion: Interoperability, the relational changes that drive policy and procedure development, the future for Atypical Providers, the new CMS-1500 and UB-04 forms, privacy issues surrounding the new identifier, and how to address the barriers (real and imagined) to successful implementation.