oandp.com and The O&P EDGE have enhanced their free online tool for searching the Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS) database.
Previously, the tool retrieved only the PECOS-enrolled provider names that contained the search term entered, along with each name’s corresponding National Provider Identifier (NPI), plus a clickable link to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) online database entry for each result.
“Now, the search tool instantly displays your search term’s results from the entire NPI database-over 3 million records-and identifies the PECOS-enrolled providers with a green check mark. Non-PECOS-enrolled providers are identified with a red X,” said Paul Prusakowski, CPO, CEO of oandp.com and OPIE Software, Gainesville, Florida.
The new search tool also looks for state abbreviations. “So if you search for ‘SMITH FL,'” Prusakowski said, “you’ll only get providers with last name of Smith in Florida. The instant search results also include the NPI number, city, and state of the provider’s practice, letting you find the provider you need at a glance.”
The list of PECOS-enrolled physicians used by the search comes directly from the PDF files that are published by CMS, and is updated as often as CMS releases a new file. The city, state, and other information for each provider is pulled from the NPI registry data that is also regularly published by CMS.
“By merging the data from these sources together into one user-friendly search, oandp.com hopes to help O&P practices overcome the challenges presented by PECOS,” Prusakowski said.
The PECOS search tool is accessible from the oandp.com homepage.
