We've updated our FAQs! Check below for the newest answers to your frequently asked questions about the NPI Service. Please contact us at npi@onehealthport.com if you need additional help.

NEW What authority does OneHealthPort have to share this data?

• The NPI Service is a voluntary service healthcare organizations and providers can use to share NPI and other provider identifier information. The Service assists payers and trading partners in populating business and clinical systems with the new provider identifiers and taxonomy codes.
• Each organization that chooses to share data accepts an agreement authorizing the Service to share that data with others accessing the NPI Service. The defined Data Sharing Policy outlines who may have access to what information.

NEW How can I be sure the data I enter will be accessed only by other health care organizations?

• OneHealthPort requires every organization and every user to accept an agreement when enrolling in the OneHealthPort Security Service. During the enrollment process, OneHealthPort vets the identity of the first employee who subscribes and, under a separate process, vets the identity of the organization as a legitimate business entity as well as either a healthcare provider organization or an organization working with or for healthcare entities (e.g., a billing service).
• Based on this vetting process, access to the secured content on all OneHealthPort sites—including the NPI Service—is limited to trusted trading partners.

NEW How is data validated? Why not just use a spreadsheet?

• Requiring participants to fill out "data fields" rather than simply using a spreadsheet gives OneHealthPort much cleaner data to work with and ensures the quality of our provider information.
• Of the 43 data fields collected by OneHealthPort, 40 are required and/or have field-level validation establishing a data quality standard for users of our web application and for organizations downloading the files into other business systems.
• Organizations subscribing to receive data downloads have daily access to refreshed files from a secured page of the NPI Service. Both full and incremental file formats are available for use. OneHealthPort offers users a Data Specifications document outlining the data collected; data file formats, data validation process and required fields.
• Unlike spreadsheet sharing of NPI files, OneHealthPort's application-based service offers data validation and enforces required fields.

NEW What system does OneHealthPort use to keep data secure?

• To ensure the safety of subscribers' information, all data entry, data viewing and data file transmissions OneHealthPort provides use SSL 128 byte encryption and https web-access.
• All users accessing the NPI Service must have a OneHealthPort secure id.

NEW What do I need to have to upload or download files?

• No FTP site process is needed; menu access is assigned to organizations that sign up to upload files into the system or subscribe to download files to their own business systems.
• Simple file transfer, file error reporting and validation protocols are built into OneHealthPort's real-time file loading process. All validated records are accepted. Immediate feedback is given on loaded files, record counts and records with filed-level errors. Any records with errors are rejected with first field-error reporting, so you can be sure that the information we receive is clean and usable.
• It's secure, it's easy to use and no additional software is needed to upload or download files.

How do I enter information for other companies I serve?

• The service is designed for organizations to enter their own data so there is not an easy way to enter another company's information without tying them to your organization.
• If you are entering data for individual practitioners, enter the Practitioner record and do not link it to your organization. This will allow searching and reporting of the Practitioner record and you retain the ability to edit any future changes to that record.
• If you are trying to enter a separate company as an entity record with an NPI number, send an email to npi@onehealthport.com and explain what you are trying to do.

How do I edit my data once I put it in the Service?

• If you made a mistake or have changes or additions to your Practitioner, Organization or Sub-Part information you can edit your data at any time by doing the following:
  • Search for the record using the Look-up feature to locate the Practitioner, Organization or Sub-Part you wish to edit or review full detail for.
  • To search for a Practitioner record: (1) make sure you are on the Practitioner Search tab of the Lookup screen; (2) type in the first 3 letters of the last name and click on the "search" button; (3) from the list of choices that are returned, highlight the record you would like to edit and double click on it, or single click on "Proceed".
  • To search for an Organization or Sub-Part record: (1) Click the button “Search Organizations and Sub-Parts”; (2) Enter the first three letters of the organization name; (3) click on the "Search" button; (4) Select the record you wish to edit by highlighting and double clicking it, or clicking "Proceed".
  • Edit the fields you need to change.
  • Edit any fields on the record.
  • Click the "Submit" button at the bottom of the screen to save your edited data.
  • Return anytime you have changes to make and follow this same process.
  • If the record says "Read Only" you can not edit the record. A record will be set as "Read Only" if it was not entered by someone in your organization or if your organization has opted to make all changes by loading files of records and has requested that individual users not be allowed to edit the data.

How do I link my Practitioner records to my organization and/or Sub-Parts?

• Enter the Practitioner information and click "Submit" for storage in the database.
• Return to review the Practitioner record by doing a Lookup and select the record to open and view. Practitioners can be "linked" to an organization and Sub-Parts by clicking the "Add" button under the Link box on the Practitioner edit screen. A small pop-up will appear with the organizations related to that Practitioner record.
• Check the box or boxes that apply and click "Link" to select the organization. Click "Submit" to save the edit and return to the Selection screen.

How do I enter multiple Taxonomy codes for a Sub-Part or a Practitioner record?

• Currently the service will only allow a single Taxonomy selection for each Practitioner, Sub-Part or Organization record. OneHealthPort is evaluating adding the feature to allow reporting of multiple Taxonomy codes for a single NPI number.

How do I find the correct Taxonomy for my records?

• The data entry screens for Organization, Sub-Part and Practitioner each have a drop-down menu to select the Taxonomy code for the record type.
• Once you select a description from the drop down menu, you can mouse over it to see a complete description and the Taxonomy number.

Should I load my data or just enter it one record at a time?

• If you have a number of records and do not want to load the data by keying in all of the records, you can elect to load the data using a specified file layout. For information on data loading by file, email npi@onehealthport.com.

What if my title is not on the Practitioner title choice list?

• If you do not see your title in the Practitioner title drop down list, you can request it be added to the service. Email title addition requests to npi@onehealthport.com.

What if I use a MAC or an unsupported browser?

• In order to quickly deploy the NPI Service, we made a decision to focus on Internet Explorer as the primary browser. We apologize to users with other browser preferences.
• If you would like assistance loading your data and you don't have access to an Internet Explorer browser, please contact OneHealthPort NPI Support at npi@onehealthport.com for instructions.

Why does it say "Allopathic and Osteopathic Physicians" when I print out my Practitioner record?

• Allopathic is the term CMS chose to refer to conventional medicine. It is not a well known term but is a scientific way of describing traditional medical practices in the US.

What do I get with a subscription to the service?

• The subscription allows you to download all data collected on a daily basis and is priced based on your organization type.
• Please contact OneHealthPort to request a contract or for more information. Send all requests to npi@onehealthport.com.

Who should contribute data to the directory?

• Any healthcare provider with an NPI number should report their information for sharing with others in the healthcare community.
• Organizations with an NPI number assignment should report their information.
• Any organization having sub-parts with NPI numbers should report their information.
• Practitioners who have individual NPI numbers and do not have an NPI for their organization or sub-part can still report their organization and/or sub-part information to inform others which organization(s) they belong to.
• Larger healthcare organizations with a variety of sub-parts and practitioners may wish to share their NPI data by loading files. OneHealthPort offers a free file loading service for organizations accepting a data sharing agreement and providing required fill formats.

Who can access the data in the system?

• Only OneHealthPort users and organizations approved by OneHealthPort will have access to the data through the NPI Service on the website.
• Any healthcare provider organization can register to join OneHealthPort. There is no fee for individual use of your OneHealthPort secure identity or the NPI Service.
• Organizations interested in subscribing to the data files must agree to the data sharing agreement and pay an annual subscription fee in order to access data files for all provider files in the system.

How will I know how many providers have contributed information?

• At the bottom of the first screen of the NPI Service there is a banner that lists the number of users who have accessed the Service, as well as the number of organizations, sub-parts and practitioner records that are in the database for use.
• Although this number may start out small, with health plans, communities and fellow practices encouraging everyone to contribute, this database can become useful for everyone in a short period of time.

Why do I need to accept a user agreement if I am already a OneHealthPort user?

• OneHealthPort needs your permission to collect and share your information with other users of the service. The User Agreement is your acceptance of that contract for use of the data.

What if I want to print the User Agreement or the Data Sharing Policy?

• Both of these documents are posted for review and printing on the OHP NPI Service page or in the application itself.

How do I get additional questions about the NPI Service answered?

• For additional questions you can email OneHealthPort at npi@onehealthport.com or leave a voicemail with contact information and your question for OneHealthPort. We will find an answer and contact you.

What if my organization would like to contribute data by submitting a file instead of doing individual record input in the web application?

• If you are interested in submitting files, please contact OneHealthPort Support at npi@onehealthport.com and provide your contact information.
• OneHealthPort has a standard Data Sharing Agreement for file Uploading that your organization will need to sign and accept.
• There is a standard file format you will need to use to submit files. Individual records that error out will be rejected for fixing and re-submission.
• There is no fee for submitting files to load and update your data in the NPI Service.

What if my organization would like to get a download of the file containing all entities, sub-parts and practitioner records?

• If you are interested in downloading files from the service, please contact OneHealthPort Support at npi@onehealthport.com and provide your contact information.
• OneHealthPort has a standard Data Sharing Agreement for file Downloading that your organization will need to sign and accept.
• Files will be available in one standard file format and two options – full files or update files for new data since the last update file.
• There is an annual subscription fee for access to download files.