The CMS National Provider Identifier (NPI) registry recorded 174 deactivations within the Physicians category for the week of 2026-W18. Of these, Hipa.ai's name cache captured 172 records with retrievable names, while two records were scrubbed by CMS in accordance with its privacy policy. Individual physicians accounted for 159 deactivations, with 13 organizations also seeing their NPIs deactivated. California led all states with 23 deactivations, representing 13% of the national total.

Geographic Distribution of Deactivations

Following California, New York recorded 13 deactivations, accounting for 8% of the total. Illinois had 11 deactivations, or 6%. New Jersey and Georgia each saw 9 deactivations, representing 5% for each state. Florida reported 8 deactivations, or 5%. Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania each had 7 deactivations, each contributing 4% to the national figure. Colorado followed with 6 deactivations, or 3%. Maryland, Arizona, Missouri, and Michigan each registered 4 deactivations, each making up 2% of the total. Virginia had 3 deactivations, or 2%. This concentration of deactivations in populous states aligns with the larger distribution of the U.S. physician workforce.

Credential and Taxonomy Trends

Among the named deactivated records, Family Medicine was the most frequently observed primary taxonomy, with 26 deactivations, representing 15%. Internal Medicine followed with 21 deactivations, or 12%. Psychiatry accounted for 15 deactivations, making up 9%. General Practice had 10 deactivations, or 6%, while Obstetrics & Gynecology saw 9 deactivations, or 5%. Pediatrics, Ophthalmology, Emergency Medicine, Surgery, and Anesthesiology each recorded 6 deactivations, each representing 3%. This mix reflects a broad range of medical specialties, with a notable presence of primary care and mental health fields.

Contextualizing NPI Deactivations

NPI deactivations are an administrative status change in the federal NPPES registry and do not inherently indicate license actions, malpractice, or that a provider has ceased practicing. Providers may obtain a new NPI, retire, change entity types, or have their record retired for clerical reasons. Deactivations are a regular occurrence as the registry is maintained and as healthcare professionals transition through various career stages or organizational structures.