BACKGROUND
HIPAA NPI education and outreach will play a critical role in the successful planning, transition and full adoption and implementation of the new National Provider Identifier.
Recent experiences with the implementation of the HIPAA Transactions and Code Sets, Privacy and Security regulations have shown the significant challenges that the health care industry faces without a coordinated communication and outreach strategy. A national coordinated strategy will help ensure early awareness across all covered and affected organizations, provide a consistent level of understanding regarding the regulations, and offer the opportunity to share planning, transition and implementation experiences, approaches and timelines.
On September 30, 2004 WEDI sent the Secretary of Health and Human Services an advisory letter on concerns and issue regarding the NPI. The letter summarized the results of the June 2004 Policy Advisory Group (PAG) forum on the NPI. Below is the WEDI letter comment on education and outreach, and the related CMS response that highlights the need for industry action in this area:
Communication & Education (includes data dissemination guidelines, business rules, guides by audience; start this in 2004; education is an ongoing process, not a one-time event; communication/education is CMS’s job with partnership from the industry). CMS comment: We agree that education is an ongoing process. …. While we will offer as much guidance as possible, covered entities must take responsibility for their own implementation of the NPI once NPIs have been assigned to health care providers.
On April 28, 2005, an informal coalition of national and regional health care professional organizations came together to voice their concerns regarding the implementation of the National Provider Identifier and the critical need that government, in concert with the health care community, develop a comprehensive implementation and outreach plan to avoid unnecessary and duplicative costs, delays and disruptions.
The letter, sent to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, included six specific recommendations aimed at improving the national NPI deployment process. Among them, Recommendation #3 highlighted the need to develop a national coordinated NPI outreach and communication initiative. A copy of the letter and recommendations, including the NPI Outreach recommendation, is included in Attachment 1.
The initiative described in this document presents a proposed format, methodology and structure to address this industry need.
MISSION
OVERVIEW AND PURPOSE
The main purpose of the WEDI NPI Outreach Initiative (herein after “Initiative” or “NPIOI”) will be to serve as the focal point to the industry for information related to the planning, transition and implementation of the NPI. The primary role of the Initiative will be to 1) develop and implement a national coordinated NPI outreach plan; 2) act as a central repository for NPI resources, and 3) disseminate industry consensus information on policy and operational issues regarding the deployment and use of the NPI. The outreach plan will be targeted to providers, payers, clearinghouses, vendors, and other industry participants affected by the new NPI.
The mission of the WEDI NPIOI is to develop comprehensive education and outreach strategies, and support coordination, on the steps that organizations need to take to plan and implement the new National Provider Identifier so that the health care industry can avoid unnecessary and duplicative efforts and costs, delays, and disruptions associated with the adoption of the NPI. The NPIOI will serve as a vehicle to disseminate industry consensus on NPI-related issues identified and addressed by appropriate WEDI and WEDI SNIP groups, to best manage and support the successful deployment and use of the NPI.
GOALS
The NPIOI will accomplish its mission by establishing the WEDI National NPI Resource Center, providing a central website for information dissemination, seeking to engender message consistency across the industry on NPI issues, facilitating outreach coordination and collaboration, performing NPI industry readiness assessment, supporting quality outreach, awareness and education, developing targeted deliverables, and maximizing the effective utilization of available programs and resources.
- Establishment of the WEDI National NPI Resource Center and the Center’s Website. The NPIOI will establish a website within the WEDI website, devoted exclusively to the NPI and coordination of key messages, information and education materials needed to be disseminated to the health care industry. All NPI-related information, documents, PAG reports, WEDI SNIP NPI white papers, web links to other NPI resource sites, etc, would be consolidated under this central site, serving as a repository for NPI resources.
- Message Consistency. The NPIOI will work with CMS and industry stakeholders to create standard and consistent messages and template information related to the NPI. All messages will be in conformance with approved WEDI NPI Policy Advisory Group and WEDI SNIP NPI Subworkgroup recommendations.
- Coordination . The NPIOI will serve as a coordinating body for the deployment of NPI-related education and outreach initiatives implemented at the national, regional and local level by members of the NPIOI’s oversight body and others in the next two years. The NPIOI will identify and document current and planned national, regional and local education and outreach activities related to the NPI. The Initiative will also work with WEDI members, WEDI SNIP participants, and national, regional and local initiatives in coordinating the deployment of education and outreach programs, and seek to use the collective outreach resources from its members to reach out to all providers, payers, clearinghouses, vendors and others.
- Collaboration . The NPIOI will engage key industry stakeholders to participate in and contribute to the programs and deliverables that support the outreach and awareness strategies. The NPIOI will encourage these industry stakeholders to participate in any work groups or task forces it creates.
- Readiness Assessment. The NPIOI will establish a mechanism to collect and disseminate information about the readiness status and plans of payers and health plans, clearinghouses and provider organizations to implement the NPI.
- Outreach/Awareness . The NPIOI will work with national and regional organizations to identify methods and vehicles for the dissemination of NPI messages, emphasizing those mechanisms that reach out to remote areas and hard to reach providers. The NPIOI will use the collective marketing resources from its leadership to reach out to all providers and payers.
- Education . The NPIOI will work with its members to identify the scope, approach and capacity of existing and planned education and outreach programs aimed primarily to providers, and covering everything about the NPI from 101 to advanced level. This process may also identify gaps, for which new programs in content, quantity or location are needed. The NPIOI will use the message template created under its Message Consistency goal so that a consistent message is delivered no matter what the venue.
- Deliverables . The NPIOI will consolidate and coordinate existing (and future) resources and tools from participating member organizations to support the education programs being planned and deployed by its members. These deliverables may include white papers, web site resources, sample tools and case studies.
- Deployment . The NPIOI will develop an industry-consensus timeline that identifies the current and planned deployment of national, regional and local education and outreach initiatives, track progress on the achievement of these initiatives, and support and encourage the deployment of regional and local initiatives, where there are none identified.. In addition, the Initiative will inventory and document resources and tools available to support the education programs. These deliverables may include recommended industry action(s), formal recommendations for white papers, input to policy and white paper development within WEDI, web site resources, and sample tools.
