- What is a digital contact?
- Will patients or members of the public be able to contact a provider via a Direct address, since this information will be publicly available in NPPES?
- What is the deadline for compliance?
- Where will the list of providers (or clinicians) who do not have digital contact information in NPPES be posted?
- What types of providers (or clinicians) should add their digital contact information into NPPES?
- Do hospital-based medical professionals need to have a digital contact listed in NPPES?
- If an individual provider or clinician practices at multiple hospitals, facilities or practice locations, can they enter multiple digital contact addresses in NPPES, associated with their NPI?
- How does an organization update digital contact information for multiple providers, clinicians or medical professionals in one file or submit a bulk update for digital contact information?
- Where can a provider review and verify their digital contact information in NPPES?
- Is it possible for a provider practice to maintain one digital contact?
- What should a provider enter in the digital contact field?
Digital Contact Information: What is it? What is required?
RESPONSE: . Digital contact information, also known as endpoints, provide a secure way for health care entities, including providers and hospitals, to send authenticated, encrypted health information directly to known, trusted recipients over the internet.[18] Health care organizations seeking to engage in electronic health information exchange need accurate information about the electronic addresses (for example, Direct address, FHIR server URL, query endpoint, or other digital contact information) of potential exchange partners to facilitate this information exchange. NPPES can now capture information about a wide range of endpoints that providers can use to facilitate secure exchange of health information (85 FR 25581).
Providers may find additional information on digital contact information in NPPES on the Health Information Exchange page of the NPPES website at: https://nppes.cms.hhs.gov/webhelp/nppeshelp/HEALTH%20INFORMATION%20EXCHANGE.html.
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- In the CMS Interoperability and Patient Access final rule, CMS finalized the policy to publicly report the names and NPIs of those providers who do not have digital contact information included in the NPPES system beginning in the second half of 2020 (85 FR 25584).
- Instructions on how to update digital contact information in NPPES and what fields are required can be found in the instructional PowerPoint deck, beginning on slide 29, at: https://nppes.cms.hhs.gov/assets/How_to_apply_for_an_NPI_online.pdf. The required fields, shown on slide 30, are: Endpoint; Endpoint Type; Endpoint Location; Endpoint Affiliation; and the Endpoint Use Terms and Conditions checkbox.
Will patients or members of the public be able to contact a provider via a Direct address, since this information will be publicly available in NPPES?
What is the deadline for compliance with the requirement that providers (or clinicians) enter their contact information into NPPES?
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- CMS has been responding to individual inquiries through the Health Informatics and Interoperability mail box or through the enumerator. This document serves as a public education tool for the wider stakeholder community.
Where will the list of providers (or clinicians) who do not have digital contact information in NPPES be posted?
What types of providers (or clinicians) should add their digital contact information into NPPES?
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- Physicians (including doctors of medicine, osteopathy, dental surgery, dental medicine, podiatric medicine, and optometry)
- Osteopathic practitioners
- Chiropractors
- Physician assistants
- Nurse practitioners
- Clinical nurse specialists
- Physical therapists
- Occupational therapists
- Clinical psychologists
- Pharmacists
- Qualified speech-language pathologists
- Qualified audiologists