What is the NPDB

The National Practitioner Data Bank is a web-based repository of reports used as a workforce tool to enhance professional review efforts, and prevent health care fraud and abuse, with the ultimate goal of protecting the public.

Registered, authorized entities must submit certain information concerning medical malpractice payments, adverse actions, and judgment or conviction reports regarding health care practitioners, providers, and suppliers.

How the NPDB Works

Only registered entities have access to reports.

More than 24,000 entities interact with the NPDB (via reporting and/or querying), including the following:

• Hospitals
• Health plans
• State licensing boards
• Medical malpractice payers
• Other health care entities

The NPDB contains 1.7 million+ reports.

Entities use the query response as a workforce tool for licensing, hiring, and credentialing decisions.

Entities are required by law to submit reports.

Practitioners, providers, and suppliers may search the NPDB (Self-Query) for their own information. Practitioners, providers, and suppliers may submit a subject statement explaining his or her perspective, which will become part of the report.

The Public Use Data File is available to the general public for research purposes.

What's in the NPDB?

• Adverse Action Reports
  1.2 million+ Adverse Action Reports are in the NPDB. Certain adverse licensure, certification, and clinical privileges actions taken by state and federal licensing and certification authorities, hospitals, and other health care organizations.
• Medical Malpractice Payment Reports
  494,000+ Medical Malpractice Payment Report are in the NPDB. Payments made for the benefit of a health care practitioner relating to a written claim or judgment for medical malpractice.
• Judgment or Conviction Reports
  41,000+ Judgment or Conviction Reports are in the NPDB. Health care-related civil judgments or criminal convictions taken in a federal or state court.

Cumulative data as of Dec. 2022.

Last year the NPDB provided 11.6 million+ query responses and received 65,000+ new reports.

Data for Jan.-Dec.2022.

---