Submitting a one-time query and receiving a response that includes all Data Bank information on the queried practitioner or organization is called traditional querying. To find out if practitioners have adverse licensure actions, adverse clinical privilege actions, Medicare/Medicaid exclusions, civil and criminal convictions, or medical malpractice payments, you can submit an individual query on a single practitioner/organization or you may submit a single query on multiple practitioners/organizations (up to 1000 at a time) to the Data Bank.
Note: The alternative to traditional querying is Continuous Query formerly known as Proactive Disclosure Service (PDS), where you receive initial query responses and continuous report information for practitioners that you have enrolled. Keep in mind that you continuously query on practitioners and not organizations when using Continuous Query.
How Do I Submit a Traditional Query?
You can submit a traditional query in one of two ways:
- Through the Data Bank Web site (via the Integrated Querying and Reporting Service, or IQRS).
- Through an external application (via the Querying and Reporting XML Service, or QRXS) that automates query and report submissions to the Data Bank and returns query results back to you in a format that can be easily loaded into your in-house information system.
Traditional Querying through the Data Bank Web Site
Most queries submitted to the Data Bank are submitted through the Data Bank Web site. The Web-application through which the querying (and reporting) takes place is the IQRS.
Through IQRS, the Data Bank provides a quick, proven, cost-effective way for hospitals to handle their legally required querying duties. All registered health care organizations (whether or not legally required to query) can use the IQRS.
How to Get Started
First, verify that you are an eligible and registered organization.
Note: To query you must sign in as a user, not as the Data Bank Administrator.
Then, go to the Data Bank Web site, sign in, and select Submit a Query. Complete the query form. Online instructions and Help guide you through the querying process.
What Happens Next
Once you submit a query, you will receive the official query response electronically in PDF format within 2 to 4 hours. The response states if there is any Data Bank report information on the practitioner(s) you queried, and provides you with a copy of existing reports in the Data Bank.
Fees
The current fee (as published in the Federal Register) for each query is $4.75 per practitioner for each Data Bank: the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), or the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank (HIPDB). This fee is assessed when either of the following occurs:
- The Data Bank processes the query. A processed query may tell you there are no reports on a practitioner or it may contain reports on the practitioner. Both outcomes constitute a valid and successful query.
- The Data Bank rejects the query because it is improperly submitted or lacks required information.
About Continuous Query
There’s another way to query the Data Bank – with Continuous Query (PDS) – which provides 24/7 continuous querying for 12 months. With Continuous Query, you submit an initial query; then, after sending an initial query response, Continuous Query automatically alerts you to any new reports or changes to reports on your enrolled practitioners for a 12-month period, on a 24/7 basis. Thus, you are always informed whenever there are new adverse licensure actions, adverse clinical privilege actions, Medicare/Medicaid exclusions, or malpractice payments during the 12-month enrollment. See Continuous Query (PDS) for more information.