Urology Coding Alert

To save time and effort, gather info before you start Even though the deadline is fast approaching, you don't need to pay someone else to apply for your practice's National Provider Identifier numbers. Take a look at how easy the process is to do yourself.

Bottom line: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires that all carriers except very small carriers, healthcare clearinghouses, and HIPAA-covered healthcare providers begin using unique National Provider Identifier (NPI) numbers by May 23, 2007. Nothing to It Before you can comply with this regulation, you have to apply for NPI numbers for your practitioners -- and despite what you may have heard, that's an easy process.

"Applying for the new NPI is extremely easy and costs nothing except about 30 minutes of your time, depending on the number of providers you have," says Laura Bassett, RMM, office manager for Mid-South Surgeons PLLC in Columbia, Tenn.

Follow these easy steps and accomplish the task in a short time. Gather Your Info Before Starting To fill out an NPI application, you'll need the physician's or group's taxonomy code, license number(s), Unique Physician Identification Numbers (UPIN), and Medicare and Medicaid numbers.

"Have all of the information for the provider available in front of you when you begin the process," says Margaret Fisher, CCS-P, ACS-GI, business office manager for the Tacoma Digestive Disease Center.

Remember: If you're filling out your application online, you won't be able to save your work and go back into the application you started if you need to stop and locate information. You'll have to start over. Make sure you have the following information on-hand before starting the online process:

• Social Security Number or IRS tax identification number

• Date of birth

• Country of birth

• State of birth

• Mailing address

• Practice location address and telephone number

• Taxonomy (provider specialty)

• State license information, if needed. Tip: If you bill for more than one physician, you'll need to get an NPI for the group as well as each individual provider. Choose Online vs. Paper Applications Decide whether you're filing online or if you're going to go the paper route. Either way, you'll file through the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES).

Filing on paper: As of Sept. 20, you can no longer print a copy of the application from www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalProvIdentStand/Downloads/NPIapplication.pdf. However, you can still obtain a copy of the paper NPI Application/Update Form and mail the completed, signed application to the NPI Enumerator in Fargo, N.D. 

The form is now available only if you request it through the NPI Enumerator. You can contact the NPI Enumerator by phone at (800) 465-3203, by e-mail at stomerservice@npienumerator.com, or by regular mail at PO Box 6059, Fargo, ND 58108-6059.

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