The Medicare Part D Prescriber Characteristics file contains descriptive information for the prescriber identified on a Part D Event file record.
Starting with the 2026 service year, CMS is releasing the Part D Prescriber Characteristics quarterly. The new quarterly Part D data products will be produced after a three-month maturity run-out for a calendar quarter, following the same cadence as the quarterly Master Beneficiary Summary File and Original Medicare claims datasets. For example:
- Q1 2026 (January – March 2026) PDE was produced in July 2026
- Q2 2026 (April – June 2026) PDE was produced in October 2026
What does this file include? (variable highlights)
- Prescriber NPI and HCIdea Identifiers
- Primary Taxonomy Code
- Practice location (state)
- Academic or Professional Credential for the prescriber
- Linkage variables to the PDE file:
- CCW Prescriber Identifier (encrypted)
- Prescriber Identifiers (unencrypted, from source PDE data)
Why do researchers request this file?
- Studies describing prescribing patterns based on prescriber specialty
- Evaluation of clinical outcome based on prescriber characteristics
Special considerations
- Prior to the 2014 service year, the prescriber ID is the encrypted CCW Prescriber ID, which cannot be linked to external, non-CMS Part D data sources.
- Part D Characteristics files for service years prior to 2026 are available as annual files only.
