The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) is a national survey designed to meet the need for objective, reliable information about the provision and use of ambulatory medical care services in the United States. Findings are based on a sample of visits to non-federal employed office-based physicians who are primarily engaged in direct patient care.

The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) is designed to meet the need for objective, reliable information about the provision and use of ambulatory medical care services in the United States. NAMCS began in 1973 as a national probability sample survey of visits to nonfederally employed office-based physicians. NCHS conducted the survey annually through 1981, again in 1985, and annually through 2021 (collection of visit data from physicians was stopped during 2020–2021 due to the burden placed on respondents by the COVID-19 pandemic). In 2006, a separate sample of Community Health Centers (CHCs) was added to the survey; the CHC component samples visits to both physicians and advanced practice providers (nurse practitioners, PAs [physician assistants and physician associates], and certified nurse midwives). Starting in 2012, in addition to the traditional NAMCS file, a separate data file for CHCs including physicians and advanced practice providers has been released.

In 2021, the former CHC sample of NAMCS was redesigned and launched as the NAMCS Health Center (HC) Component, collecting visit data from HCs using electronic health records, or EHR, systems of the participating health centers. The NAMCS Health Center Component contains critical data about health centers and the care they provide.

The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) Health Center Component, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), collects annual data on visits to health centers to describe patterns of utilization and provision of ambulatory care delivery in the United States. Health centers are local clinics that are community-based and provide comprehensive health care services to populations that are often vulnerable and underserved. Health centers are either federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), which receive federal funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), or FQHC look-alikes, which meet HRSA requirements but do not receive HRSA funding.

Through its data linkage program, NCHS has been able to expand the analytic utility of the data collected from the 2021 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) by augmenting it with mortality data from the National Death Index (NDI). Linkage of NAMCS data with the NDI mortality data provides the opportunity to conduct a vast array of outcome studies designed to investigate the association of a wide variety of health factors with mortality.

The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS), conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), collects data on visits to physician offices to describe patterns of ambulatory care delivery in the United States. As part of NAMCS, the Physician Induction Interview collects information about practice characteristics at physician offices. Partway through the 2020 NAMCS, NCHS added questions to the Physician Induction Interview to assess physician experiences related to COVID-19 in office-based settings. The data include nationally representative estimates of experiences related to COVID-19 among office-based physicians in the United States, including: shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the past 3 months; the ability to test for COVID-19 in the past 3 months; providers testing positive for COVID-19 in the past 3 months; turning away COVID-19 patients in the past 3 months; and telemedicine or telehealth technology use before and after March 2020. Estimates were derived from interviews with physicians in periods 3 and 4 of 2020 NAMCS and periods 1 through 4 of 2021 NAMCS, which occurred between December 15, 2020 and May 6, 2022. The data are considered preliminary, and the results may change with the final data release.

Through its data linkage program, NCHS has been able to expand the analytic utility of the data collected from the 2021 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) by augmenting it with mortality data from the National Death Index (NDI). Linkage of NAMCS data with the NDI mortality data provides the opportunity to conduct a vast array of outcome studies designed to investigate the association of a wide variety of health factors with mortality.

The dataset represents National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data. It is references in full in the main manuscript.

This dataset tracks the updates made on the dataset "National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS)" as a repository for previous versions of the data and metadata.

The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS), conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), collects data from physician offices to describe practice characteristics and patterns of ambulatory care delivery in the United States. After the COVID-19 pandemic began, NCHS added questions to the 2020 and 2021 NAMCS Physician Induction Interview to evaluate physicians’ experiences related to the pandemic. Specifically, physicians in office-based settings were asked about: shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE); experiences with COVID-19 testing; providers in their office who tested positive for COVID-19; turning away COVID-19 patients; and telemedicine or telehealth technology use at their office. Measures related to these topic areas are further described and displayed in data dashboards here: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/namcs.htm.

The National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys (NAMCS) supply data on ambulatory medical care provided in physicians' offices. The 1999 survey contains information from 20,760 patient visits to 1,087 physicians' offices. Data are available on the patient's smoking habits, reason for the visit, expected source of payment, the physician's diagnosis, and the kinds of diagnostic and therapeutic services rendered. Other variables cover drugs/medications ordered, administered, or provided during office visits, with information on medication code, generic name and code, brand name, entry status, prescription status, federal controlled substance status, composition status, and related ingredient codes. Information is also included on the physician's specialization and geographic location. Demographic information on patients, such as age, sex, race, and ethnicity, was also collected.

This dataset tracks the updates made on the dataset "National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) Linked to National Death Index (NDI) Data" as a repository for previous versions of the data and metadata.

The National Electronic Health Records Survey (NEHRS) is an annual survey of non-federally employed, office-based physicians practicing in the United States (excluding those in the specialties of anesthesiology, radiology, and pathology). NEHRS began in 2008 and was originally designed as an annual mail supplement to the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS). Prior to 2012, NEHRS was a supplement to the NAMCS, referred to as the NAMCS Electronic Medical Records Supplement. The annual data collected was similar to NEHRS and may be analyzed as a distinct dataset. Data from the supplement can be used to produce state and national estimates of EHR adoption and capabilities, burden associated with EHRs, and progress physicians have made towards meeting the policy goals of the HITECH Act. Please refer to the following link for the 2008—2011 NAMCS Electronic Medical Records Supplemental questionnaire and data dictionary: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nehrs/questionnaires.htm.

The National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) is a national survey that collects information information about the provision and use of ambulatory medical care services in the United States. The survey samples visits to hospital outpatient departments (OPD), hospital emergency departments (ED), and hospital-based ambulatory surgery locations (ASL). The survey has been conducted annually since 1992; since 2018, the survey has only collected data on hospital emergency department visits.

Approximately 500 nationally representative hospitals are selected to provide data on a sample of patient visits each year. Excluded hospitals include federal, hospital units within institutions, and hospitals with fewer than six staffed beds for patient use. Data collected includes patient demographics, conditions treated, services provided, and payment methods. The data is weighted to produce national estimates.

The purpose of the National CLAS Physician Survey was to understand the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate services among office-based physicians. The National CLAS Physician Survey was a supplement to the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS), which is a national probability sample survey of visits to office-based physicians. NAMCS is a component of the National Health Care Surveys that measured health care utilization across a variety of health care providers’ settings. NAMCS and the National CLAS Physician Survey were conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The National CLAS Physician Survey public use file includes data from office-based physicians. No patient level data were collected. This documentation describes the public use micro-data file produced from data collected in the National CLAS Physician Survey.

The purpose of the National CLAS Physician Survey was to understand the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate services among office-based physicians. The National CLAS Physician Survey was a supplement to the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS), which is a national probability sample survey of visits to office-based physicians. NAMCS is a component of the National Health Care Surveys that measured health care utilization across a variety of health care providers’ settings. NAMCS and the National CLAS Physician Survey were conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The National CLAS Physician Survey public use file includes data from office-based physicians. No patient level data were collected. This documentation describes the public use micro-data file produced from data collected in the National CLAS Physician Survey.

Socio-demographic characteristics of sample (N = 1548/n = 18,511,829 (weighted)).

Supplemental Methods and Figures

Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions with off-label use as dependent variable.

Most common diagnoses for commonly prescribed off-label medications.

Abstract (en): The National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) was inaugurated in 1992 to fill a gap in data about ambulatory medical care in the United States. Although the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) collects annual data on patient visits to physician offices, it excludes the hospital emergency room and outpatient department visits that make up a large part of the total ambulatory care received each year. The NHAMCS provides data from samples of patient records selected from emergency departments (EDs) and outpatient departments (OPDs) of a national sample of hospitals. The resulting national estimates describe the use of hospital ambulatory medical care services in the United States. For the 1996 survey, data were collected from 235 OPDs and 392 EDs. Among the variables included are age, race, and sex of the patient, reason for the visit, physician's diagnoses, cause of injury (ED only), surgical procedures (OPD only), medication therapy, and expected source of payment. 2006-01-18 File CB2365.ALL was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads. (1) This collection has not been processed by ICPSR staff. ICPSR is distributing the data and documentation for this collection in essentially the same form in which they were received. When appropriate, hardcopy documentation has been converted to machine-readable form and variables have been recoded to ensure respondents' anonymity. (2) Per agreement with NCHS, ICPSR distributes the data file(s) and technical documentation in this collection in their original form as prepared by NCHS.