The Administrative Simplification provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) mandated the adoption of standard unique identifiers for health care providers and health plans. The purpose of these provisions is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the electronic transmission of health information.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has developed the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) to assign these unique identifiers.
To Apply go to:
https://nppes.cms.hhs.gov/NPPES/StaticForward.do?forward=static.npistart
To view the CMS Background and Application Process Information for Healthcare Providers Viewlet. This may take a few minutes to load.
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/npi/npiviewlet.asp
For more information on NPPES, go HERE to visit their web site or call toll free at 1-800-465-3203.