MD = Medical Doctor
DO = Doctor of Osteopathy
OD = Doctor of Optometry
DPM = Doctor of Podiatric Medicine
DDM = Doctor of Dental Medicine
DDS = Doctor of Dental Surgery
CH * = Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine
CNS = Clinical Nurse Specialist
NP = Nurse Practitioner
PA = Physician Assistant
GRP= Medical group
* For UPIN Purposes, Doctors of Chiropractic Medicine are listed under the
credentials of
CH. The actual credentials are “DC”.
UPIN Specialty Codes
01 General Practice
02 General Surgery
03 Allergy/Immunology
04 Otolaryngology
05 Anesthesiology
06 Cardiology
07 Dermatology
08 Family Practice
09 Interventional Pain management
10 Gastroenterology
11 Internal Medicine
12 Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy
13 Neurology
14 Neurosurgery
16 Obstetrics/Gynecology
18 Ophthalmology
19 Oral Surgery
20 Orthopedic Surgery
22 Pathology
24 Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
25 Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
26 Psychiatry
28 Colon rectal Surgery
29 Pulmonary Disease
30 Diagnostic Radiology
33 Thoracic Surgery
34 Urology
35 Chiropractic
36 Nuclear Medicine
37 Pediatric Medicine
38 Geriatric Medicine
39 Nephrology
40 Hand Surgery
41 Optometry
44 Infectious Disease
46 Endocrinology
48 Podiatry
50 Nurse Practitioner
66 Rheumatology
70 Multi-specialty Clinic or Group Practice
72 Pain Management
76 Peripheral Vascular Disease
77 Vascular Disease
78 Cardiac Surgery
79 Addiction Medicine
81 Critical Care
82 Hematology
83 Hematology/Oncology
84 Preventive Medicine
85 Maxillofacial Surgery
86 Neuropsychiatry
89 Certified Clinical Nurse Specialist
90 Medical Oncology
91 Surgical Oncology
92 Radiation Oncology
93 Emergency Medicine
94 Interventional Radiology
96 Optician
97 Physician Assistant
98 Gynecological Oncology
99 Unknown Physician Specialty
Surrogate UPINs
Some situations may exist in which physicians are not yet issued UPINs.
In these instances, surrogate UPINs are to be used.
The HCFA designated surrogate UPINs are OTH000, RES000, VAD000, RET000,
PHS000, and INT000.
Surrogate UPINs, with the exception of RET000, are temporary and are
to be used only until UPINs are assigned in accordance with the following
conditions:
A. Residents.--Billers are to use the six (6) character surrogate UPIN
RES000 for a physician meeting the description of "intern, resident",
or "fellow" in MCM, Part 3, §2020.8A, if the individual does not have
a UPIN. However, if a resident already obtained a UPIN, that number
is to be used instead of the resident surrogate. If a physician leaves
the hospital for private practice and did not receive a UPIN, the physician
may continue to use the surrogate used in the hospital until a UPIN
is assigned.
B. Physician with Military, Department of Veterans Affairs and Public
Health Service.--Physician/health care practitioners serving in the
military or with the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Public Health
Service are not exempt from the requirement to obtain a UPIN, particularly
if they expect to provide services to Medicare beneficiaries or refer
beneficiaries for other services. Until a UPIN is assigned, they are
to use the following surrogate UPINs:
VAD000- Physicians serving on active duty in the military of the United States
and those employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
PHS000- Physicians serving in the Public Health Service, including the Indian
Health Service.
C. Retired Physicians.--These physicians are not issued UPINs and are
to use the surrogate RET000. Retired physicians who are assigned a UPIN
must use the assigned UPIN.
D. "Special Use" UPIN.--Situations may evolve that do not fall within
the above categories. Therefore, one additional surrogate UPIN, OTH000
is provided.
