CMS Releases PECOS File

In a Jan. 28 listserv message, CMS released the file of
physicians and other practitioners who are eligible to order and
refer under Medicare — and who have an enrollment record in
the Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS).

The file includes approximately 800,000 records in an
alphabetical list of names and NPI numbers. The PDF is available on
the CMS Web site, but note before opening the file
that it’s more than 13,000 pages long.

The CMS message follows in its entirety:

As stated in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS) provider listserv messages that were sent last fall
concerning CRs 6417 and 6421, CMS has made available a file that
contains the National Provider Identifier (NPI) and the name (last
name, first name) of all physicians and non-physician practitioners
who are of a type/specialty that is eligible to order and refer in
the Medicare program and who have current enrollment records in
Medicare (i.e., they have enrollment records in PECOS that contain
an NPI). This file is downloadable from the Medicare
provider/supplier enrollment web site:
www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareProviderSupEnroll: click on
“Ordering/Referring Report” on the left-hand side.

This .pdf file contains approximately 800,000 records. A new
file will be made available periodically that will replace the
posted file; at any given time, only one file (the most recent)
will be available. The file can be viewed online. In addition, it
can be downloaded by users with technical expertise and further
sorted or manipulated. It can also be used to search for a
particular physician or non-physician practitioner by NPI or by
name. Please note the following: (1) Records are in alphabetical
order based on the surname of the physician or non-physician
practitioner. (2) Name suffixes (e.g., Jr.), if they exist, are not
displayed. (3) There are no “duplicates” in the file. Many
physicians or non-physician practitioners share the same first and
last name; their corresponding NPIs are the assurance of
uniqueness. (4) Deceased physicians and non-physician practitioners
are not included in the file. (5) If a user is unsure of a
physician or non-physician practitioner’s NPI, he or she can look
it up in the NPI Registry
(https://nppes.cms.hhs.gov/NPPES/NPIRegistryHome.do).

Keep in mind that the record in the NPI Registry is not the
Medicare PECOS enrollment record.