Synergy - July/August 2014 - 21

responsible for creating a written agreement
between themselves and any authorized
agents. Persons or entities who receive
information from the NPDB either directly
or indirectly are subject to the confidentiality
provisions and the imposition of a civil
monetary penalty if they violate those
provisions. When an authorized agent is
designated to handle NPDB reports and
queries, both the healthcare entity and the
agent are required to maintain confidentiality
requirements. Therefore, the written
agreement should confirm the following:
* The agent is authorized to conduct
business in the state in which it operates.

purpose for which the disclosure was
made. This means that an authorized
agent cannot use a query response on
behalf of more than one healthcare entity.
* Example: If two different healthcare
entities designate the same authorized
agent to query the Data Bank, and both
entities wish to request information on
the same practitioner, the authorized
agent must query the Data Bank
separately on behalf of each entity. The
response to a Data Bank query submitted
for one healthcare entity cannot be
disclosed to another entity.

* The agent's facilities are secure, ensuring
the confidentiality of Data Bank reporting
and query responses.

3. The agent may, but is not required
to, pay for query fees; the healthcare
entity is ultimately responsible.

* The agent is aware of the sanctions that
can be taken against it if information is
requested, used, or disclosed in violation
of Data Bank provisions.

A healthcare entity may choose to have
a query charge assessed either to its
preauthorized electronic funds transfer
(EFT) account or its agent's preauthorized
EFT account. Another option is for the
entity to use a credit or debit card, or for
the authorized agent to use its credit or

* The agent is explicitly prohibited from
using information obtained from the Data
Bank for any purpose other than the

debit card. The healthcare entity ultimately
is responsible for the payment of query
fees incurred by its authorized agent. This
includes any outstanding balances for
unpaid queries. Written agreements with
authorized agents should include procedures
for the payment of query fees. ■

For More Information:
The NPDB website, www.npdb.hrsa.gov,
has additional information about
authorized agents and other topics.
These include new regulations,
webinars, FAQs, and newsletter
articles. The Customer Service Center
also can help with questions. Contact
800-767-6732 (800-SOS-NPDB) or
help@npdb.hrsa.gov.
Also, if you are interested in having
a Data Bank staff member speak at
an upcoming educational activity
(via webinar), please submit an
Education Request.

PRIVplus, the complete
credentialing software

Reliable
credentialing
software
that has been
an industry
leader
for 30 years

with all the standard
features plus many extras

Features available at no extra cost include:
* Self Serve Verification
Let outside facilities create their
own verification of staff status
* PRIVview
View privileges throughout your organization
via link on your intranet website (need
password)
* On-line Directory
View alpha, specialty or department order
with photo

CBR Associates, Inc.
www.CBRAssociates.com
919-286-1326

Email: BrendaS@cbrassoc.com
J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 4 S Y N E R G Y

/

21
http://www.npdb.hrsa.gov http://www.npdb.hrsa.gov/hcorg/aboutAuthorizedAgents.jsp http://www.npdb.hrsa.gov/hcorg/whatYouMustReportToTheDataBank.jsp http://www.npdb.hrsa.gov/forms/EducationRequest.pdf http://www.cbrassociates.com/
Synergy - July/August 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Synergy - July/August 2014
