NPI Registry Down

ATLANTA–CMS closed down its new Internet registry of National
Provider Identification numbers last week because of “recent
instability,” the agency said.

The registry, which was developed as a resource to providers
submitting Medicare claims, is expected to be back in operation
sometime this week, CMS said in a statement. The agency had
initially announced that it would take down the NPI Registry for
one day only on Sept. 18. Friday’s announcement extended the
period.

“Many of you have noted the recent instability of [The National
Plan and Provider Enumeration System] and the NPI Registry,” CMS
said in its notice. “CMS has begun implementing changes that should
eliminate the instability. We expect that these changes will be
completed next week. NPPES will remain in operation while these
changes are being made, but the NPI Registry will remain down until
all changes have been implemented. We expect the NPI Registry to be
back in operation sometime next week. We apologize for the
inconvenience.”

The registry allows health care providers to locate their
referral sources’ NPI numbers for the purpose of submitting
Medicare-compliant claims.

While some providers said they did indeed find it helpful,
according to others, the system, which debuted Sept. 4, contains a
troubling issue: It also reveals National Supplier Clearinghouse
identification numbers, which could allow access to a provider’s
proprietary information (see HomeCare Monday, Sept. 17).

A spokesman for CMS said that furnishing the NSC numbers was
optional. “Providers can remove their NSC numbers from NPPES
whenever they wish. Once they remove them, those numbers will not
appear in the NPI Registry because the NPI Registry is a ‘real
time’ system,” the spokesman said.

However, CMS did not respond to a question about what effect
removing an NSC number from the NPI registry would have on
verifying the NPI-legacy number pairs currently necessary for
claims payment.