National Practitioner Bank Public Use File
NICAR Record Layout
December 2006

SEQNO		N	11
Record Number. SEQNO is a unique number assigned to each record. The assigned numbers are not necessarily continuous or sequential. In addition, the SEQNO assigned to any particular record may change in new editions of the Public Use File.

RECTYPE		C	1
Record Type. RECTYPE is the form of Report submitted to the NPDB. Possible values include: Malpractice Payment (old reporting format), Malpractice Payment (new reporting format), Adverse Action (old reporting format), or Adverse Action (new consolidated adverse action �CAAR� format). Note that in this file some variables from type �M� malpractice payment reports and some variables from type �A� adverse action records have been translated into the codes currently used in the new type �P� and type �C� records. This was done to facilitate analysis. These translations are not in the records disclosed in response to queriers submitted to the NDPB by to authorized querying entities. Queriers receive full copies of reports as submitted.

RECTYPE_B	C	56
Value labels for rectype codes

REPTYPE		N	11
Report type

REPTYPE_B	C	60
Value labels for reptype codes

ORIGYEAR	N	11
Year this record (or, if the record was later corrected or changed, the year the original version of this record) was processed into the National Practitioner Data Bank. This variable is a reasonable substitute for year of Judgment or Settlement, which is an optional field, and frequently was not reported in the first few years of NPDB operation Reports must be made to the Data Bank within 30 days of a payment, so in most cases this value represents the year the payment was made or the adverse action was taken.

ORIGYEAR_B	C	21
Value labels for origyear

WORKSTAT	C	2
Practitioner�s work state. See notes about licnstat.

WORKSTAT_B	C	30
Value labels for workstat

WORKCTRY	C	10
Practitioner's Work Country. (Information for this item is recorded exactly as reported by the reporting entity. Therefore, this field may sometimes include erroneous data - i.e., numerical values, punctuation marks, etc...)

HOMESTAT	C	2
Practitioner�s home state. See notes about licnstat.

HOMESTAT_B	C	30
Value labels for homestat

HOMECTRY	C	10
Practitioner's Home Country. (Information for this item is recorded exactly as reported by the reporting entity. Therefore, this field may sometimes include erroneous data - i.e., numerical values, punctuation marks, etc...)

LICNSTAT	C	2
Practitioner's State of License (First Listed State of License -- practitioners may be licensed in more than one State. Up to 10 States of license may be reported to the NDPB. Only the first State listed in an NPDB report is provided in this file.) For helpful notes regarding analysis using state values, see notes in readme0403.pdf

LICNSTAT_B	C	30
Value labels for licnstat

LICNFELD	N	11
Practitioner's Field of License. [Note: Reporting is required for malpractice payments made for all practitioners regardless of their field of license; reporting is required for adverse actions (other than exclusions) only for practitioners in license fields 10 through 35 (physicians and dentists).
>>>>> WARNING TO USERS: Adverse actions concerning practitioners in license fields other than 10 through 35 (physicians and dentists) are occasionally reported to the NPDB although these reports are not required; these occasional reports do not constitute a random sample of licensure, clinical privileges, or professional society actions taken against practitioners in these fields. Statistical analysis of these reports for practitioners other than physicians and dentists is not recommended and will to yield extremely misleading results. Exclusions are reported for practitioners of all license fields and may be analyzed.

LICNFELD_B	C	60
Value labels for licnfeld

PRACTAGE	N	11
Practitioner's Age Group. (Based on the age of the practitioner at the time of the event leading to the report.)

PRACTAGE_B	C	18
Value labels for practage

GRAD		N	11
Practitioner's Professional School Graduation Year Group

GRAD_B		C	17
Value labels for grad

ALGNNATR	N	11
Malpractice Allegation Group. This variable was first used in reports on 1/31/2004. For records with a RECTYPE value of "M", the value shown has been translated into the new Malpractice Payment Report codes from the act or omission codes used in old format reports. [This field is blank in Adverse Action records.]
IMPORTANT NOTE: When analyzing physician malpractice payments, ALGNNATR should not be used as a substitute for physician specialty. For example, surgery codes may be used to report payments for physicians who are not surgeons, and obstetrics codes may be used to report payments for physicians who are not OB/GYNs, etc. The NPDB does not collect information on practitioner specialty in malpractice payment reports. No information on practitioner specialty is available for analysis.

ALGNNATR_B	C	27
Value labels for allgnnatr

ALEGATN1	N	11
First Specific Malpractice Act or Omission Code. (Malpractice Payment reports allow for two "reason" codes for each case. This variable is the first listed code.) This variable was first used in reports on 1/31/2004. For records with a RECTYPE value of "M", the value shown has been translated into the new Malpractice Payment Report codes from the codes used in old format reports. [This field is blank in Adverse Action records.]

ALEGATN1_B	C	60
Value labels for alegatn1

ALEGATN2	N	11
Second Specific Malpractice Act or Omission Code (Malpractice Payment reports allow for two "reason" codes for each case. This variable is the second listed code.) This variable was first used in reports on 1/31/2004. For records with a RECTYPE value of "M", the value shown has been translated into the new Malpractice Payment Report codes from the codes used in old format reports. [This field is blank in Adverse Action records and Malpractice Payment records in which a second Allegation code was not supplied.]

ALEGATN2_B	C	60
Value labels for alegatn2

OUTCOME		N	11
Severity of Alleged Malpractice Injury. This variable was first used in reports on 1/31/2004. [This field is blank in Adverse Action records and type �M� Malpractice Payment records.]

OUTCOME_B	C	43
Value labels for outcome

MALYEAR1	N	11
Year of Act or Omission 1. (Beginning year of acts or omissions) [Note: Erroneous years (e.g., 3999) were recorded exactly as they were reported by the reporting entity and must be corrected by the same. The process to correct erroneous years is currently underway.][This field is blank in Adverse Action records.]

MALYEAR2	N	11
Year of Act or Omission 2. (End year of acts or omissions) [Note: Erroneous years (e.g., 3999) were recorded exactly as they were reported by the reporting entity and must be corrected by the same. The process to correct erroneous years is currently underway.] [This field is blank in Adverse Action records and Malpractice Payment records for which a second date was not supplied.]

PAYMENT		N	11
Amount of Reported Payment. This is the amount of the specific payment that led to the filing of this malpractice payment report. Payment amounts are coded into ranges. See the agency�s readme PDF file for more details.

PAYMENT_B	C	32
Value labels for payment

TOTALPMT	N	11
Total Payment by This Payer for This Practitioner. In most cases this will equal PAYMENT; however, if the reporting entity has made or will make other payments to this plaintiff for this practitioner in this case, this variable represents the total paid or to be paid. (Payment amounts are coded into ranges.)

TOTALPMT_B	C	32
Value labels for totalpmt

PAYNUMBR	C	1
Single or Multiple Payment. (Malpractice settlements or judgments may be paid in one payment or in multiple payments. This variable specifies which is applicable to this record.) [This field is blank in Adverse Action records.]

PAYNUMBR_B	C	8
Value labels for paynumbr

NUMBPRSN	N	11
Number of Practitioners Included in the Payment (Payments may be made which pertain to the acts or omissions of a number of practitioners. A separate report must be filed for each named practitioner.) [This field is blank in Adverse Action records.]

PAYTYPE		C	1
Payment a Result of Judgment or Settlement. [This field is blank in Adverse Action records.]

PAYTYPE_B	C	28
Value labels for paytype

PYRRLTNS	C	1
Relationship of Paying Entity to the Practitioner. [This field is blank in Adverse Action records.]

PYRRLTNS_B	C	56
Value labels for pyrrltns

PTAGE		N	11
Patient Age in Groups of Years. (Patient Age at the time of the incident which led to the payment. Fractional years are used only for patients less than one year old. Fetuses are coded as -1.) This variable was first used in reports on 1/31/2004. NOTE: The official readme says that this field is blank for Adverse Action (C and A type) and type �M� Malpractice Payment records.  However, these records actually appear as zero in the table, the same value used to label children under the age of one.  The total number of M, C and A records, 354,884, subtracted from the total records labeled zero, 359,870, means that about 4,986 records involved children younger than one-year-old.

PTAGE_B		C	18
Value labels for ptage

PTGENDER	C	1
Gender of Patient. This variable was first used in reports on 1/31/2004. [This field is blank in Adverse Action records and type �M� Malpractice Payment records.]

PTGENDER_B	C	7
Value labels for ptgender

PTTYPE		C	1
Patient Type (Inpatient, Outpatient, Both). This variable was first used in reports on 1/31/2004. [This field is blank in Adverse Action records and type �M� Malpractice Payment records.]

PTTYPE_B	C	10
Value labels for pttype

AAYEAR		N	11
Year of Adverse Action. [Note: Erroneous years (e.g., 3999) were recorded exactly as they were reported by the reporting entity and must be corrected by the reporting entity. The process to obtain corrections for erroneous years is currently underway.][This field is blank in Malpractice Payment records.]

AACLASS1	N	11
Adverse Action Classification 1. [This field is blank in Malpractice Payment records.] This variable was first used in reports on 11/22/1999. For records with a RECTYPE value of "A", the value shown has been translated into the new Consolidated Adverse Action Report codes from the codes used in old format reports.

AACLASS1_B	C	60
Value labels for aaclass1

AACLASS2	N	11
Adverse Action Classification 2. [This field is blank in Malpractice Payment records.] This variable was first used in reports on 11/22/1999.

AACLASS2_B	C	60
Value labels for aaclass2

AACLASS3	N	11
Adverse Action Classification 3. [This field is blank in Malpractice Payment records.] This variable was first used in reports on 11/22/1999.

AACLASS3_B	C	60
Value labels for aaclass3

AACLASS4	N	11
Adverse Action Classification 4. [This field is blank in Malpractice Payment records.] This variable was first used in reports on 11/22/1999.

AACLASS4_B	C	60
Value labels for aaclass4

AACLASS5	N	11
Adverse Action Classification 5. [This field is blank in Malpractice Payment records.] This variable was first used in reports on 11/22/1999.

AACLASS5_B	C	60
Value labels for aaclass5

BASISCD1	C	2
Basis for Action1. [This field is blank in Malpractice Payment records.] This variable was first used in reports on 11/22/1999. For records with a RECTYPE value of "A" (old format Adverse Action Reports), the value shown has been translated into the new Consolidated Adverse Action Report BASISCD1 codes from the codes used in old format reports.

BASISCD1_B	C	60
Value labels for basiscd1

BASISCD2	C	2
Basis for Action2. [This field is blank in Malpractice Payment records.] This variable was first used in reports on 11/22/1999.

BASISCD2_B	C	60
Value labels for basiscd2

BASISCD3	C	2
Basis for Action3. [This field is blank in Malpractice Payment records.] This variable was first used in reports on 11/22/1999.

BASISCD3_B	C	60
Value labels for basiscd3

BASISCD4	C	2
Basis for Action4. [This field is blank in Malpractice Payment records.] This variable was first used in reports on 11/22/1999.

BASISCD4_B	C	60
Value labels for basiscd4

BASISCD5	C	2
Basis for Action5. [This field is blank in Malpractice Payment records.] This variable was first used in reports on 11/22/1999.

BASISCD5_B	C	60
Value labels for basiscd5

AALENTYP	C	1
Adverse Action Length Type. [This field is blank in Malpractice Payment records.]

AALENTYP_B	C	25
Value labels for aalentyp

AALENGTH	N	12
For specified penalty lengths, Length of Adverse Action Penalty, in Years and Fractions of Years (i.e., 2.25 is 2 years 3 months). [This field is blank in Malpractice Payment, Old Format Exclusion, and Adverse Action Records which do not have a specified penalty length.]

AAEFYEAR	N	11
Effective Year of Adverse Action [Note: Erroneous years (e.g., 3999) were recorded exactly as they were reported by the reporting entity and must be corrected by the same. The process to correct erroneous years is currently underway.][This field is blank in Malpractice Payment records.]

AASIGYR		N	11
Year of Adverse Action Report Signature. [Note: Erroneous years (e.g., 3999) were recorded exactly as they were reported by the reporting entity and must be corrected by the same. The process to correct erroneous years is currently underway.] [This field is blank in Malpractice Payment records.]

TYPE		N	11
Type of Reporting Entity.

TYPE_B		C	57
Value labels for type

PRACTNUM	N	11
Practitioner Number. (This number is assigned solely to each individual practitioner listed in this Public Use Data File. Its use allows researchers to link reports concerning the same practitioner. This number was assigned during the creation of this file and is unique to this file. It is not used by the National Practitioner Data Bank in any way. It is not linked to any practitioner numbers used by the National Practitioner Data Bank. Note also that although all records of a given practitioner will have the same PRACTNUM in this edition of the Public Use Data File, that same practitioner may have a different PRACTNUM in other editions of the Public Use Data Files prepared on different dates.)

NPMALRPT	N	11
Subject's Number of NPDB Malpractice Payment Reports.

NPLICRPT	N	11
Subject's Number of NPDB Licensure Reports.

NPCLPRPT	N	11
Subject's Number of NPDB Clinical Privileges or Panel Member Reports.

NPPSMRPT	N	11
Subject's Number of NPDB Professional Society Membership Reports.

NPDEARPT	N	11
Subject's Number of NPDB DEA Reports.

NPEXCRPT	N	11
Subject's Number of NPDB Exclusion Reports.

FUNDPYMT	N	11
Malpractice Payment Made by a State Patient Compensation Fund, Excess Judgment Fund, or Other Similar State Funds. (Nine States -- Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Wisconsin -- have or had State funds which make malpractice payments in addition to the payment made by a practitioner's primary malpractice insurance carrier if the total amount of the settlement or judgment is more than a maximum amount set in State law for payments by a primary insurance carrier. If such payments are made, there are in most cases two reports to the NPDB, one from the primary malpractice insurance carrier and one from the State fund, for a single malpractice incident. [In some instances, however, a State fund may be the only payer.] Note that payments made by these funds have the effect of increasing the number of reports and decreasing the mean and median payment amounts in the affected States. Some of these funds have made payments for practitioners not practicing in the State of the fund at the time of the malpractice incident and some routinely make some payments for practitioners who are not covered by any primary carrier. New York has a malpractice carrier of last resort which sometimes is a practitioner�s only carrier and sometimes provides only excess coverage. Payments by this New York carrier are NOT identified as state fund payments.) [This field is blank except for Malpractice records.] NOTE: The official readme says that this field is blank for Adverse Action records (A and C types).  However, these records actually appear as zero in the table, the same value used to label �Malpractice Payment Made by an Insurance Company or Self-Insured Entity.�  The total number of Adverse Action records, 103,939, subtracted from the total records labeled zero, 379,766, means that about 275,827 records involved malpractice payments made by insurance companies or self-insured entities.  

FUNDPYMT_B	C	41
Value labels for fundpymt