How to Designate an Authorized Agent

Health care organizations can give another organization (an "authorized agent") permission to query and report to the NPDB on their behalf. To establish an authorized agent relationship, both the health care organization and the agent must be properly registered with the NPDB and have a mutually-written agreement in effect prior to the authorized agent's querying or reporting.

To establish an agent relationship, the account administrator must follow these steps:

1. Sign in to the NPDB as the administrator.
2. On the Select an Option page, select Administrator Options.
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   Select an Option

   
3. On the Administrator Options page, select Maintain Agent Information.
4. On the Authorized Agents page, select Add.
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   Authorized Agents

   
5. Complete the form on the Designate Authorized Agent page.
6. Certify the information, and select Continue; follow the instructions on the Agent Designation Status page and select Continue.
7. Print or save the formatted copy of the Agent Designation Request and keep as part of your records.
8. Notify the agent's account administrator. Instruct the administrator to sign into the NPDB and accept the request.
   Note: Upon sign in, the agent's account administrator receives an alert stating that electronic correspondence is available.
9. If the agent accepts the designation, the Agent Designation Status page appears. Click to view the Agent Designation Response. Print or save the response and keep it with your records. Once a request is accepted, the agent can begin querying or reporting on the health care organization's behalf.
10. If the agent rejects the request, he or she is asked to provide a reason for the rejection, which is sent to the initiating organization.
11. The health care organization's account administrator receives electronic correspondence through the IQRS, stating that the request is rejected or approved.

About Multiple Organizations

Although authorized agents can represent multiple organizations, they cannot use the same query response on behalf of more than one organization. Information received from the NPDB must not be shared between multiple organizations. If two organizations wish to query on the same practitioner, by the same agent, the agent must query the NPDB separately on behalf of each organization.