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Are all pharmacists and pharmacies required to obtain a NPI?

April 26, 2017NPI obtain pharmacies pharmacists

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Are all pharmacists and pharmacies required to obtain a NPI?

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A. All healthcare providers that are covered entities under HIPAA are required to obtain an NPI. If a pharmacy sends or receives HIPAA-covered transactions, the pharmacy must obtain an NPI. The same is true for a pharmacist. If the healthcare provider does not conduct HIPAA-covered transactions, but is a healthcare provider under HIPAA’s definition (as are pharmacies and pharmacists), then the provider may, but is not required to obtain an NPI. The NPI consists of 10 numeric digits. The NPI does not have embedded intelligence. There is no method of determining whether an NPI belongs to an individual or an organization by looking at the number. Only organizations can have multiple NPIs. Individuals can obtain only one NPI throughout their lifetime, except in unusual circumstances such as replacing an NPI due to fraudulent activity associated with the NPI.