HHS Cuts Off Public Access to National Practitioner Data Bank
The United States Department of Health and Human Services has shut down public access to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), according to several reports.
The NPDB stores information on physicians and other health care professionals which is used by hospitals, state medical boards, and other entities to make decisions regarding credentialing and licensing. Such information includes reports on if the physician has ever been terminated for issues related to patient care; settled or had a judgment rendered against him/her in a malpractice case; if a physician resigns while under investigation; and certain other adverse events.
Public access to the NPDB has historically been limited - members of the public could review records, but identifying details such as names and ages were removed, along with the dollar amounts of malpractice settlements. However, HHS has now decided to eliminate public access to the NPBD entirely. Now, the database may only be accessed by licensing or credentialing agencies such as hospitals, medical board, insurers, etc.
A spokesperson for HHS claims that NPDB information must be kept confidential, and even limited public access allows users to "triangulate" data. Patient advocacy groups have protested the public access removal.
