At Delta Dental, our IT people are working to transition our systems so that we can accept the single NPI identifier and continue to pay claims as quickly and accurately as ever. While the government requires us to be ready no later than May 23, 2007, our timeline puts us on course to accept NPIs in place of other identifiers well before the deadline.

At times, the healthcare IT community has found it hard to believe that the NPI standard is part of the administrative simplification requirements established by HIPAA. Modifying the technological infrastructure to allow for accepting and processing NPI numbers has been anything but simple. Nonetheless, Delta Dental is working diligently to meet the deadlines and requirements set forth by the NPI standard without disrupting our current levels of claims processing and customer service.

“Thanks to all of the dentists and health professionals who have applied for NPIs and who have notified us of their new identifiers,” said Janis Oshensky, vice president of professional relations for Delta Dental Plans Association. “While we’re not ready to completely replace the current identifiers with NPIs, we’re making great progress and will work to keep dentists and their office staff informed about our NPI readiness.”

The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as legal advice. Dentists are encouraged to seek their own legal advice regarding the application of the National Provider Identifier Rule to their practices and circumstances.