How to read an NPPES provider record

Every provider record in drfind is built from official NPPES fields. Here’s what each one means and the gotchas to watch for.

Field by field

Field	What it means
NPI	The provider’s permanent 10-digit identifier.
Entity type	Individual (a person) or Organization (a facility or group).
Name / credential	Legal name and credential (MD, DO, DDS, NP…), or the organization’s legal business name.
Specialty	The primary taxonomy, shown as a plain-English label.
Practice location	The primary practice address — street, city, state, ZIP.
Phone	The practice phone number on file.
Status	Active or deactivated, derived from the registry’s dates.

Gotchas

• Self-reported. Providers maintain their own records, so a phone or address can lag reality. Treat it as a strong lead, not gospel — and verify when it matters.
• Practice vs. mailing address. The registry holds both; the practice location is the clinically meaningful one.
• Multiple specialties. A provider may list several taxonomies; the primary one is what’s shown.
• Organizations look different. Type 2 records have an organization name instead of a person’s name.

Want the deeper picture of where these fields come from? See inside the NPPES database. Or just look up a provider and read the record directly.