This has bugged me for quite some time because it seems I "lose" my new providers. This is of course because I have entered a future date as the 'start date'. I try to enter them as soon as I've setup a future appointment so i don't forget and so I can have the reminder.
My suggestion would be to provide an option on the 'Providers' screen that allows the user to select whether only active providers should be displayed. If 'yes' then display only the active providers in alpha order with last name first. If 'no' then display all providers in the same manner.
Thanks,
Gary