WASHINGTON--Beginning June 28, providers will have access to the NPI numbers for their referral sources, CMS said last week.

May 23 was the official deadline to begin use of the new national provider identification numbers, a system that replaces all other identifiers for health care providers.

In several national roundtable calls on the NPI, providers had asked for a registry of the numbers in order to submit HIPAA-compliant claims, for which they need the numbers of physicians and other referral sources. In response, it will make "[National Plan and Provider Enumeration System] health care provider data available on the Internet," CMS said in a notice published in the May 30 Federal Register.

The data, which will disclose only information obtainable through the Freedom of Information Act, will be available in downloadable files and in a query-only database. Users will be able to query by NPI or provider name to access the information, and data will be updated monthly, according to the notice.

The notice also encouraged health care providers who have been assigned NPIs to review their NPPES and make any changes before June 28. It also reminded providers that they are required to update their data within 30 days of any change.

In addition, CMS said that providers could delete any NPPES data that was not required in order to obtain an NPI if they prefer that information not to be disclosed.

Meanwhile, new FAQs regarding the data dissemination, including just what information will be disclosed, along with a tip sheet on compliance, have been posted at www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalProvidentStand.

To aid with questions regarding the data dissemination, CMS has also scheduled a national roundtable from 2 to 3:30 p.m. ET on June 14. Registration information will be available soon, the agency said.

Although CMS has announced contingency plans for non-compliance, it has cautioned that as soon as the number of claims submitted with an NPI is sufficient, Medicare could begin rejecting claims without the identifier possibly as early as July (see HomeCare Monday, May 7).

Click here to read the entire Federal Register notice.