What is the National Practitioner Data Bank?

The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) is a confidential, web-based repository operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It collects and discloses reports on medical malpractice payments and certain adverse actions (such as licensure disciplinary actions, clinical privilege restrictions, professional society actions, and exclusions from federal programs) involving health care practitioners, providers, and suppliers.

Established by Congress under the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986 (with later expansions, including the merger of the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank in 2013), the NPDB aims to improve health care quality, protect the public, and reduce fraud and abuse by serving as a flagging system for professional competence and conduct issues.

Information in the NPDB is not publicly available and can only be accessed by authorized entities (e.g., hospitals, state licensing boards, and certain health care organizations) for credentialing and review purposes. Practitioners can self-query their own records.

Once a negative entry is entered into the NPDB it is difficult to remove but it can be updated.

For more details, visit the official site at npdb.hrsa.gov.