The NPI Number (National Provider Identifier) is the only healthcare provider identifier that can be used in standard transactions by covered businesses for identifying purposes.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) mandates the use of NPI numbers in standard transactions by covered organizations.
To process all medical claims, the NPI number provider lookup must be used instead of legacy provider identifiers like the UPIN in HIPAA standards transactions.
A National Practitioner Identifier (NPI) number is a unique identifying number assigned to each healthcare provider and organization in the United States.
NPIs were introduced in 1996 as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, to improve the efficiency of electronic health records (HIPPA). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), as well as all health care plans and clearinghouses, use NPIs to process payment claims, as well as financial and administrative activities.
What is NPI lookup?
NPI lookup is a check that healthcare practitioners and individuals do to verify the NPI. There are several websites online where you can do an NPI lookup. Below are a few website:-
NPInumberlookup.org
Types of NPI Numbers
There are two different groups of NPI numbers: Type 1 and Type 2.
Type 1 NPIs, often known as rendering NPIs, is used by healthcare practitioners who work solo, mainly as sole proprietors. At the start of their careers, all healthcare practitioners should receive an individual Type 1 NPI, which functions similarly to a social security number and allows you to be easily identified as a healthcare provider.
On the other hand, NPI Type 2, or organizational NPI, is necessary for group healthcare companies and practices. A Type 2 NPI is required if your business, which is made up of many wellness providers, issues superbills or CMS-1500s to your patients.