Streamlit app: search for US healthcare providers by zip/state and specialty | Hacker News Reader

Streamlit app: search for US healthcare providers by zip/state and specialty

app.cybersyn.com

2 pointsizyda4 comments

This website says data is sourced from the NPI national database. The number one problem with any provider directory is that it is woefully out of date, because HCPs move around to different practices and areas and they change their phone numbers and emails so often, that you can't trust a provider directory, but you just find a name in there and then you Google them or something and figure out where they've gone off to in 2023. I don't know if the NPI data mitigates this. Of course, I couldn't find names, addresses, phone or emails anyway.

What am I supposed to see here? Is this just a count in greyscale? I don't see any pins on the map, and I don't see any way to search by name, or surface any provider's name.

I zoomed in carefully on one particular ZIP code, and then I selected a filter and it zoomed right out again, so I fought with the zoom at every stage of filtering.

Does this have anything to do with adblockers?

> I don’t know if the NPI data mitigates this.

The NPI database is used by heallth care payers in validating billing transactions (and in some cases by regulators in validating information in other interactions.) There are very strong incentives for active providers to have information current and accurate.

OTOH, IIRC, NPI’s need to be actively deactivated, so there is probably a lot of “active” data for no-longer-working providers.

Thanks for checking out the app. In its current state the app is showing counts (total/per capita) of healthcare providers - not specific provider names as you point out. Our team is working to improve the zoom/filtering capabilities.

Regarding your question on the underlying dataset: The data is sourced from the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES). The NPPES is a governing body created by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to issue mandatory National Provider Identifier (NPI) codes to all healthcare providers in the United States. NPI codes are unique 10-digit numbers used to identify healthcare providers. Healthcare providers include both individual practitioners (e.g. doctor, nurse) and organizations (e.g. hospital, clinic). The administrative simplification provisions of HIPAA require all covered healthcare providers, plans and clearinghouses use NPIs in administrative and financial transactions (e.g. claim payments, referrals, diagnosis coding, etc.). If a provider is no longer practicing, they are responsible for manually deactivating their NPI with the NPPES. The NPPES publishes updated NPI data on a weekly basis. Visit cybersyn.docs.com for more information.

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