In the news: Changes to Section 1921 affect NPDB reporting

The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) has implemented changes to Section 1921, which expands the practitioner information the data bank collects. More details about the new Section 1921 regulation can be found in the January 28 Federal Register.

Changes to Section 1921 will expand the information contained in the NPDB to include:

• Adverse licensure actions taken against all licensed healthcare practitioners
• Any negative actions or findings by State licensing agencies, peer review organizations, and private accreditation organizations against all health care practitioners and entities

Additionally, “private sector (non-Federal) hospitals will now have access to adverse licensure actions taken against all licensed healthcare professionals such as nurses, podiatrists, chiropractors, and psychologists—not just physicians and dentists. At this time, only Federal hospitals have access to this information,” according to the press release.

Check the “What’s New” link on the NPDB Web site for more updates and, as always, keep reading the Credentialing Resource Center blog for the latest best practices for implementation.