National Practitioner Data Bank: Major Improvements Are Needed to Enhance Data Bank's Reliability

United States. General Accounting Office.

United States. General Accounting Office.

关键词: Government accountability -- United States.;    information technology;    health care;    justice and law enforcement;    national practitioner data bank;   

RP-ID  :  GAO-01-130
RP-ID  :  231008

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Although the National Practitioner Data Bank is presently the nation's only central source of medical malpractice payment information, it is unclear whether all relevant data are being properly reported. GAO's review suggests that information in that data bank may not be as accurate, complete, or as timely as it should be. Inaccuracies in the way reported information was coded could confuse or mislead querying organizations about the severity of actions taken against practitioners. Also, duplicate reports overstate the amount of information that the databank has on a particular practitioner. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has not established criteria for the information that states and other entities must report when notifying the data bank of the disciplinary actions taken. Moreover, HRSA lacks procedures for ensuring that reporters adhere to the criteria established for medical malpractice reports, including inappropriate references to patients' names. Furthermore, the practitioner notification and dispute resolution processes have not ensured that inaccurate and erroneously reported information is removed from the data bank and not released to entities seeking information on specific practitioners. Finally, without an examination of its financial operations, HRSA has little assurance that its data bank user fees are appropriate. An analysis of its cash balances and cash flows--user fee collections and disbursements--would be the best way for HRSA to determine the appropriateness of fees."