All individual HIPAA covered healthcare providers (physicians, pharmacists, physician assistants, midwives, nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, dentists, denturists, chiropractors, clinical social workers, professional counselors, physical therapists, occupational therapists, pharmacy technicians, athletic trainers etc.) or organizations (hospitals, home health care agencies, nursing homes, residential treatment centers, group practices, laboratories, pharmacies, medical equipment companies, etc.) must obtain an NPI for use in all HIPAA standard transactions, even if a billing agency prepares the transaction. Once assigned, a provider's NPI is permanent and remains with the provider regardless of job or location changes.

Answer this question based on the passage: who is required to have a national provider identifier? Let's have some stream of consciousness first.
The relevant information is: All individual HIPAA covered healthcare providers (physicians, pharmacists, physician assistants, midwives, nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, dentists, denturists, chiropractors, clinical social workers, professional counselors, physical therapists, occupational therapists, pharmacy technicians, athletic trainers etc.) or organizations (hospitals, home health care agencies, nursing homes, residential treatment centers, group practices, laboratories, pharmacies, medical equipment companies, etc.) must obtain an NPI for use in all HIPAA standard transactions, even if a billing agency prepares the transaction. So, the answer is All individual HIPAA covered healthcare providers ( physicians , pharmacists , physician assistants , midwives , nurse practitioners , nurse anesthetists , dentists , denturists , chiropractors , clinical social workers , professional counselors , physical therapists , occupational therapists , pharmacy technicians , athletic trainers etc . ) or organizations ( hospitals , home health care agencies , nursing homes , residential treatment centers , group practices , laboratories , pharmacies , medical equipment companies , etc . ).