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The National Practitioner Data Bank: implications for nurse anesthetists
1Rush University College of Nursing, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
CRNA : the Clinical Forum for Nurse Anesthetists
|December 29, 1998
Summary
The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) flags adverse actions against health practitioners. While intended to ensure informed credentialing decisions, its impact on privileging is limited, and malpractice reports don't always reflect incompetence.
Area of Science:
- Health Policy
- Medical Regulation
- Healthcare Administration
Background:
- The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) was established by the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986.
- Operational since 1990, the NPDB requires querying by hospitals and credentialing bodies for practitioner privileging.
- It processes approximately 25,000 adverse action reports annually.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the role and impact of the NPDB in healthcare.
- To highlight the NPDB's function as an information flagging system for licensing and credentialing authorities.
- To address concerns regarding access to NPDB information for consumers and providers.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of the NPDB's creation, operational mandate, and reporting mechanisms.
- Review of the NPDB's intended purpose in identifying potentially incompetent practitioners.
- Evaluation of the impact of NPDB reports on hospital privileging decisions.
Main Results:
- The NPDB serves as a crucial flagging system for adverse actions against health practitioners.
- Only 2% of NPDB matched reports influenced hospital privileging decisions.
- Malpractice payments in the NPDB are not definitive indicators of healthcare incompetence.
Conclusions:
- Healthcare providers must understand the NPDB's mission and its implications for credentialing.
- The NPDB's effectiveness in ensuring practitioner competence is limited.
- Further examination of proposed uses for NPDB information is warranted.