Frequently Asked Questions
For assistance in using the Data Bank, search by topic or select from the list of most commonly asked questions. For additional help, refer to the Guidebooks or contact Customer Service.
Public Use Data File
What is the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB)?
The NPDB is a confidential information clearinghouse created by statute in 1986 to improve health care quality, protect the public, and reduce health care fraud and abuse in the U.S. The Data Bank serves as a flagging system intended to facilitate a comprehensive review of the professional credentials of health care practitioners, providers, and suppliers. The Data Bank assists in promoting quality health care and deterring fraud and abuse in our health care delivery systems.
Updated November 2011 (Topic: Public Use Data File)
What is the Public Use Data File (PUF)?
The PUF contains selected variables from medical malpractice payment and adverse licensure, clinical privileges, professional society membership, and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reports (adverse actions) received by the NPDB concerning physicians, dentists, and other licensed health care practitioners. It also includes information concerning Medicare and Medicaid exclusion actions taken by the Department of HHS Office of Inspector General.
The Public Use Data File is designed to provide data for statistical analysis only. Identifying information is removed and some variables are provided in ranges (e.g., malpractice payments, ages, etc.). Any findings and conclusions derived from analyses of these data are attributable to the researcher(s) and do not reflect those of the NPDB.
The PUF is in two formats. For detailed file description and format/variable information, see the NPDB Public Use Data File Format Specifications (Tab Delimited ASCII Version) (PDF - 445 KB) or the NPDB Public Use Data File Format Specifications (SPSS Version) (PDF - 421 KB).
Updated November 2011 (Topic: Public Use Data File)
How is the PUF different from the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB)?
The NPDB is a confidential data collection and dissemination system. It includes individually identifiable information which can be provided only to legally authorized queriers, such as hospitals, managed care organizations, and State licensing agencies for professional credentialing, peer review, hiring and licensing purposes. The PUF includes data derived from the NPDB that excludes identifying information and is presented in a manner that would not permit the identification of individual entities or practitioners, as required by law.
Updated November 2011 (Topic: Public Use Data File)
How many times per year is the PUF updated?
This file is updated 4 times a year to include data as of March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31 of that year. The updated file is generally available within 2 months of the listed dates. The file that is currently available for download contains information received from September 1, 1990, through December 31, 2012.
Updated November 2011 (Topic: Public Use Data File)
How many years of information are included in the PUF?
The PUF contains information dating back to September 1990.
Updated November 2011 (Topic: Public Use Data File)
Are there any restrictions on the release of data from the PUF?
According to the statute that authorized creation of the NPDB, de-identified information from the NPDB, such as the information in the PUF, may be released only if the information is in a form that does not permit the identification of any particular health care entity, physician, other health care practitioner, or patient. That is why, as a condition of obtaining access to the data, HRSA is requiring users to agree to a number of requirements, such as not linking the PUF data with individually identifiable data from other data sets.
Updated November 2011 (Topic: Public Use Data File)
Can I report or otherwise disclose the data from the PUF?
You may report on or disclose the data from the PUF for statistical reporting or analyses that do not identify any individual or entity.
Updated November 2011 (Topic: Public Use Data File)
What other information in the NPDB is available to the public?
Summary Reports of the number of reports submitted on health professionals by State and Annual Reports containing statistical tables are on the Data Bank Statistical Data page. You can also contact the Division of Practitioner Data Banks (DPDB) at 301-443-2300 for other statistical information.
Updated November 2011 (Topic: Public Use Data File)
What if I want more detailed information than is available in the PUF?
The NPDB in-house research file contains data that are not included in the PUF, such as identifying information about individual practitioners, specific values for variables that the PUF only provides in ranges (e.g., malpractice payments, ages, etc.), information about reporting entities, and information from the Healthcare Integrity Protection Data Bank. While the research data file is not available to the public, requests for de-identified statistical data that is not available through the PUF are granted on a case-by-case basis.
Updated November 2011 (Topic: Public Use Data File)
If I am a hospital or state licensing board, do I need a DUA to continue to query and use the NPDB?
The DUA is needed only for access to the Public Use Data File. Hospitals, state licensing boards, and other health care entities that are registered with the NPDB will continue to have access to the NPDB as they do today.
Updated November 2011 (Topic: Public Use Data File)
