National Provider Identifier
Summary
Only four months remain until the May 23, 2007 National Provider Identifier (NPI) compliance deadline. When asked to predict what percentage of the industry will be NPI compliant by the deadline, 31 percent said 25 to 49 percent of the industry, while 29 percent of the respondents said 50 to 74 percent of the industry will be compliant. As for current NPI compliance status, only a handful of organizations are using a fully tested NPI compliant patient billing process. Most have one and are currently in test mode. Currently, two in five respondents mentioned that their patient billing and practice management systems are NPI ready. According to the respondents, vendors are not likely to charge additional fees for the NPI software. Most respondents feel NPI impact on their current patient billing and collections process will be minimal at best.
Predicted Percentage of the Industry NPI-Compliant by May 23, 2007
Nearly two-thirds of respondents predicted the 25 to 74 percent of the industry will be NPI compliant by the deadline date. Only a handful indicated that ten percent or less of the market would be compliant by that time.
Current Status of NPI Compliance
When asked of current status of NPI compliance, more than two in five respondents (41 percent) mentioned they have an NPI and are in the process of testing it with their payers and software vendors. Ten percent of the respondents actually are fully compliant and using NPI in billing transactions.
Percentage of Billing Software System/Practice Management System NPI Ready
Two in five respondents said their billing software and practice management systems are NPI ready. More than one-quarter of the respondents (28 percent) stated they are not NPI ready, while one-third (32 percent) did not know if they were NPI ready.
Current Vendor Charging an Additional Fee to Acquire NPI Software
Almost one-half of the respondents mentioned their current vendor is not charging an additional fee to acquire NPI software. One in ten respondents said they are being charged by their current vendor to acquire NPI software.
Perceived Impact of NPI on Patient Billing and Collections
The perceived level impact that NPI will have on patient billing and collections at the respondents’ organizations is, at best, moderate. Almost three–quarters of the respondents predicted that NPI will either have some impact, minimal impact or no impact on patient billing and collections at their organization. Less than ten percent of the respondents feel the NPI impact will be substantial in improving cash flow. A little less than 20 percent of the respondents think the NPI impact will be detrimental to cash flow.
1 of 6 
