v3.4.1
| Version | 3.4.1 |
| Status | Final. v3.4.0 was a Final Consolidated Draft. |
| Release date | Not stated for v3.4.1. v3.4.0 was 9/10/2026. |
| Effective date | October 1, 2026. v3.4.0 gave the placeholder [TBD after finalization]. |
| Comment period | Closed for this version. The specification is open for proposals. v3.4.0 gave the placeholder [Date + 60 days]. |
| Increment | Patch number. By the specification's own definitions, a removal from Table 2 is a Minor change, so the number does not follow those definitions. |
| Builds on | v3.4.0 |
What changed
Removed
- Rule 29 (First Name* + Last Name* + Phone Number + ZIP) is removed from Table 2 (Proposal v3.4.1).
- The rule has no date of birth, so it matched a parent and child who share a name, phone number, and ZIP code.
- Its ID is retired and not reused. Rules 30 and above are not renumbered, so IDs run 01 to 30 with 29 absent. Table 2 shows rule 29 struck through.
- The Category 1 count changes from 30 to 29. The Category 2 count of 8 is unchanged.
Consequences the proposal notes
- Rule 29 was the only approved rule that could evaluate provider data of the NPPES shape, so provider matching needs a separate follow-up.
- A patient query with name, phone, and ZIP but no date of birth no longer matches under Table 2.
Everything else
Unchanged from v3.4.0, except the Category 1 count in the Executive Summary, the version, effective date and comment period in Document Control, and the downloads, which no longer include rule 29. Pages on this site show "Specification v3.4.1" in their headers for that reason.
Not in this version
- Proposal 10, Institutional Address Identification Methodology, is under review.
See Under Review.
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