Which of the following best characterizes the relationship between HCQIA and NPDB?

Which of the following best characterizes the relationship between HCQIA and NPDB?

• A. HCQIA predates NPDB by four years
• B. NPDB predates HCQIA by four years
• C. They occurred in the same year
• D. They are unrelated

Answer: (A)

The key idea is the timing and origin: the Health Care Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA) was enacted in 1986 to promote peer review and improve quality, and it created the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). The NPDB began operating around 1990, about four years after HCQIA was enacted. So HCQIA predates the NPDB by four years because the data bank is a creation of that act and was not in place until several years later. This linkage matters because the NPDB is the reporting system established by HCQIA to support credentialing and disciplinary actions.

The key idea is the timing and origin: the Health Care Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA) was enacted in 1986 to promote peer review and improve quality, and it created the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). The NPDB began operating around 1990, about four years after HCQIA was enacted. So HCQIA predates the NPDB by four years because the data bank is a creation of that act and was not in place until several years later. This linkage matters because the NPDB is the reporting system established by HCQIA to support credentialing and disciplinary actions.