National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB)
A federal registry of adverse actions taken against doctors (e.g., payments
made on behalf of doctors by professional liability insurers). The NPDB, created
by the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986, was intended to restrict
the ability of doctors to move their practices from one state to another, without
disclosing previous unprofessional or incompetent conduct. However, given the
potential abuses inherent in this system, only hospitals, boards of medical
examiners, state licensing boards, and the individual physicians have unrestricted
access to the NPDB. Correspondingly, limitations have been imposed upon access
to the NPDB by insurers and plaintiffs attorneys.
Links for IRMI Online Subscribers Only:
PLI XVI.C