The US Drug Enforcement Administration issues a DEA number to any health care provider, including physicians, optometrists, dentists, veterinarians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners.
It enables these providers to write banned substance prescriptions; it also allows the DEA to track who is prescribing what.
A Savannah, Georgia, physician was found guilty by a jury in October 2019 of illegally dispensing controlled substances and three counts of health care fraud.
As a result, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison and is thought to be one of the worst offenders in Savannah’s opioid epidemic.
The DEA was established in 1973 as part of President Richard Nixon’s War on Drugs initiative. Before the DEA, various law enforcement and intelligence agencies were primarily in charge of investigating and prosecuting drug-related crimes.
The DEA was established to consolidate their efforts and have a single primary source for investigation and prosecution.
A provider cannot prescribe controlled substances to patients without a DEA number; however, not all prescriptions are controlled substances.
As previously stated, DEA numbers are unique to each provider and are only issued to providers who have undergone the necessary certification and testing as required by state and federal law.
While a provider can still practice without a DEA number if they are not prescribing controlled substances, it is difficult to do so. A DEA number is used as provider identification by many insurance companies and pharmacies, and it has become the industry standard. However, a DEA number is not the only way for providers to be identified.
DEA number lookup is a very simple task. You can search it by NPI also. NPI is an abbreviation for National Provider Identifier. It is a variety that is distributed to any health care provider and organization.
The federal government can track medical service providers using it. An NPI is required by law for any individual, organization, or pharmacy that performs medical billing.
When an individual receives NPI identification, it implies that they are qualified to conduct business in the healthcare industry. As a result, it is critical that you simply ensure that the doctor has this type of certification.
Numerous websites will provide you with this type of information. Check to see if the doctor has a DEA or NPI number. You should never entrust your health to an unlicensed practitioner. You can also lookup a DEA number by contacting the DEA office directly.