NPI
also known as: National Provider Identifier
The 10-digit federal identifier every healthcare provider uses to bill, prescribe, and report — issued by CMS via NPPES.
The National Provider Identifier is a 10-digit number that uniquely identifies every healthcare provider in the United States — physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, pharmacies, and labs all have one (or several).
NPI Type 1 = individual clinician. NPI Type 2 = organization (a hospital, group practice, etc.). A clinician who works at a hospital has both: a personal Type 1 NPI and is associated with the hospital's Type 2 NPI.
NPI is issued by CMS via the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES). The NPPES registry is public — you can look up any provider's specialty, taxonomy, state of licensure, and credentialing dates.
NPI vs CCN: CCN identifies a hospital as a Medicare-certified institution. NPI identifies the billing entity. A hospital may have multiple NPIs (one per legal subsidiary) but only one CCN.
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