US healthcare industry observers have begun to recognize that the May 2007 deadline for National Provider Identifier (NPI) implementation will be missed. The electronic transactions that flow between payers and providers may be slowed, and payment cycles may be compromised. Many healthcare organizations are not prepared to manage the resulting costs and business continuity risks, according to Healthcare IT Transition Group.

This specialist consultancy is warning that compliance with the NPI Final Rule cannot be achieved unless providers are fully enumerated and the entire industry has access to the data necessary to populate and validate electronic transactions. More than three years since CMS stated that its NPI dissemination policy would be “described in detail at a later date,” a clarification document finally cleared the agency and was sent to OMB for final review in February of this year. That’s just too late for providers and payers to populate their databases, test the transactions and make necessary adjustments to their systems and processes. As a result some major health plans have already announced they will miss the deadline.

Healthcare providers, health plans and their trading partners have come to realize they must act now to develop their own contingency plans, positioned to dovetail with Federal guidance, if and when it becomes available, states Healthcare IT Transition Group. A good contingency plan should document both internal and external realities, establish triggers based on solid metrics and define a rational, low-cost strategy for the transition to NPI.

To assist healthcare providers, Healthcare IT Transition Group has announced that it is running a web-based seminar on NPI contingency planning. This will be held on April 10 and repeated on April 12, and is now open for registration at http://hittransition.com/flashpoint/npibc

The webinar is designed for health IT managers, NPI project leadership, compliance officers, regulatory advisors, corporate counsel, and others involved in either the switch to NPI, or in ‘keeping the trains running ontime’ during the transition.

•Date: 20th March 2007 • Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Service based industries
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