On this page you will find details about what information legal counsel may access in the NPDB (and how), as well as what makes a criminal conviction or civil judgment reportable to the NPDB.
The information obtained from the NPDB on the practitioner can be used only with respect to a legal action or claim against the hospital, not against the practitioner. Any further disclosure or use violates the confidentiality provisions of Title IV and subjects the plaintiff's attorney and/or the plaintiff pro se to a civil monetary penalty of up to $11,000 per incident.
Plaintiff's Attorneys and Plaintiffs Representing Themselves
A plaintiff's attorney or a plaintiff representing himself or herself (pro se) is permitted to obtain certain information from the NPDB under the following circumstances:
Evidence that the hospital failed to query the NPDB must be obtained by the plaintiff through discovery in the litigation process. This evidence is not available to the plaintiff through the NPDB.
The plaintiff's attorney must submit all of the following to the NPDB:
Once the request for access is approved, the attorney is entitled to a one-time-only disclosure. The attorney will receive only that information available in the NPDB at the time the hospital was required to query but did not. It also includes information on any reports that subsequently were voided. Information that will be made available to the plaintiff's attorney is limited to reports submitted to the NPDB under the authority of Title IV, including:
The "Attorney Access" portion of the NPDB Guidebook's Querying chapter provides further information, examples, and instructions about where to mail the above materials.
Defense attorneys are not permitted access to the NPDB. However, the defendant practitioner is permitted to perform his or her own Self-Query to obtain any reports matching his or her name that have been submitted to the NPDB. The Self-Query response will show any information about medical malpractice payments, adverse licensure or privileges actions, or judgments and convictions that are found. Self-Queries are $4.00 per order.
Refer to our Reporting Health Care Related Criminal Convictions and Civil Judgments infographics for a visual guide to what information attorneys must report to the NPDB. Our Judgment or Conviction Reporting information page contains details about your responsibilities for reporting state health care-related prosecutions and civil judgments to the NPDB. You may also expand and collapse summaries of when to report criminal convictions and civil judgments, below.
A criminal conviction against a health care practitioner, provider, or supplier is reportable to the NPDB when it is related to the delivery of a health care item or service and includes:
A civil judgment against a health care practitioner, provider, or supplier is reportable to the NPDB regardless of whether the judgment is on appeal, when it is related to the delivery of a health care item or service. For multi-party suits: