# Shop by Doc Both the [IFP Medical](/quote-and-select/quote-individuals/aca-medical.md) and [Medicare Advantage](/quote-and-select/quote-individuals/medicare-advantage.md) quoting workflows support evaluation of provider participation within a single API call. This process is commonly referred to as "Shop by Doc", short for shopping for coverage with doctor participation in the plan's network as a core component. While the quote and provider participation is evaluated in a single endpoint, the provider(s) the end user would like to evaluate must be first identified. This results in a two-step process for building a Shop by Doc experience with Ideon's APIs: 1. [Search for a Specific Provider](/quote-and-select/provider-network-directory-search/search-for-a-specific-provider.md) - use the "Provider Search" endpoint to identify one or more of the end user's healthcare provider's NPIs and, optionally, addresses. 2. [Quote Applicants with Provider Data](#quote-applicants-with-provider-data) - quote the end user in the IFP Medical or Medicare Advantage markets with the selected providers, returning available plans and their benefits, premiums, and provider participation data. ## Search for a Specific Provider See the [Search for a Specific Provider section](/quote-and-select/provider-network-directory-search/search-for-a-specific-provider.md) for a detailed summary. The output of this step is one or more selected provider NPIs and, optionally, specific addresses they practice at. ## Quote Applicants with Provider Data ### Quoting an Individual with Provider Participation The NPIs and optional address IDs for one or more provider(s) can be passed in the request body of the Medical Plan Search endpoint ([API docs](https://docs.ideonapi.com/#major-medical-plans-major-medical-plans-post)) or Medicare Advantage Plan Search endpoint ([API docs](https://docs.ideonapi.com/#medicare-advantage-plans-medicare-advantage-plans-post)) to evaluate provider- and address-level participation for each of the quoted plans. The NPIs and optional address IDs should be included in the `providers` array in the request body. Each unique `npi` and optional `address_id` combination (corresponding to the provider NPI) should be included in its own object in the array. If an NPI is included in an object in the `providers` array with no corresponding address ID, then the provider will be evaluated for participation in each plan's network at *any* address they practice at. All in-network addresses for the provider will be returned for each plan. If an NPI and address ID are included in an object in the `providers` array, then the provider will be evaluated for participation in each plan's network at the given address, and only that address. Neither NPIs nor address IDs passed in the `providers` array are validated. If values passed for `npi` and/or `address_id` are invalid or not found, the quote will succeed and participation will be evaluated as out-of-network. We recommend including a maximum of 50 NPIs or NPI/Address ID combinations in each given quote request. ### Provider Participation in the Response If the `providers` array is included in the request body, then a `providers` array will also be included in the response schema for each plan object in the `plans` array with data on the provider's participation in the plans network. The `providers` array includes objects for each of the requested providers; each object contains three fields. * **Provider NPI** (`npi`) - the NPI of the provider for which participation is being evaluated. * **Network Participation Evaluation** (`in_network`) - a boolean indicating whether or not the provider participates in the plan's network. If no `address_id` was passed for the provider in the request, this will be *true* if the provider participates in the plan's network at any address. If an `address_id` was passed for the provider in the request, this will be *true* if the provider participates in the plan's network at the specific address passed. * **In-Network Addresses** (`addresses`) - an array of the addresses at which the provider practices and participates in the plan's network. If no `address_id` was passed for the provider in the request, this will contain all addresses the provider practices at and participates in the plan's network. If an `address_id` was passed for the provider in the request, this will be filtered to only contain the specific address passed. If no addresses satisfy the above criteria, then the `addresses` array will be empty. {% code title="Sample Response for a Plan Object with an Out-of-Network Provider" %} ```json { "id": "12345NY0000001", "name": "Blue Shield Inspire (HMO)", "premium": 500.0, "providers": [ { "npi": 1538670880, "in_network": false, "addresses": [] } ], "...": "additional fields included" } ``` {% endcode %} {% code title="Sample Response for a Plan Object with an In-Network Provider" %} ```json { "id": "12345NY0000001", "name": "Blue Shield Inspire (HMO)", "premium": 500.0, "providers": [ { "npi": 1538670880, "in_network": true, "addresses": [ { "city": "Glendale", "latitude": "33.65406", "longitude": "-112.19773", "state": "AZ", "street_line_1": "6320 W Union Hills Dr", "street_line_2": "Ste 200 Bldg A", "zip_code": "85308", "id": "2bd18d55-4bc6-3a66-aeef-fae893d5d8c0", "phone_numbers": ["4806194097"], "fax_numbers": [], "external_id": null, "pcp": false, "pcp_id": null, "accepting_new_patients": true } ] } ], "...": "additional fields included" } ``` {% endcode %} --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://ideonapi.gitbook.io/quote-and-select/quote-individuals/shop-by-doc.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.