Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
NAMCS has been conducted since 1973 and is the nation’s foremost study of ambulatory care. In the past, NAMCS focused on visits made to nonfederally employed office-based physicians who are primarily engaged in direct patient care and included an annual sample of visits to Community Health Centers (CHCs). In 2021, the sample of CHC visits was redesigned, and the NAMCS Health Center Component was launched. The NAMCS Provider Interview Component is being conducted for the first time in 2023 and represents a redesign of the previous NAMCS Physician Induction Interview. Specifically, the Provider Interview Component now focuses on the collection of information from nonfederally employed ambulatory care providers (i.e., such as physicians and PAs [physician assistants and physician associates]) in the United States, who are primarily engaged in direct patient care. Patient information is no longer collected from a sample of visits, and survey information now focuses on the provider experience, including topics such as telemedicine and electronic health records use, and health equity.
The National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, administers NAMCS. The U.S. Census Bureau is acting as the designated data collection agent for NAMCS.
The survey asks ambulatory care providers questions to help health services researchers and policy makers understand the changing characteristics of ambulatory health care in this country. Information collected on the providers’ experiences includes topics such as telemedicine and electronic health records use and health equity in the United States.
No, you will not be asked to provide any patient information.
About 30 minutes.
Providers who were asked to participate were randomly selected from national lists of physicians and advanced practice providers who are currently providing ambulatory care in the United States. Specifically, the name and contact information of physicians randomly selected to participate was drawn from the American Medical Association and the American Osteopathic Association Master Files. The name and contact information of PAs was randomly drawn from the American Academy of Physician Associates Master File.
Yes. The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Ethics Review Board (ERB) has reviewed and approved this study to be in compliance with NCHS Practices and Procedures. It is also approved by the Office of Management and Budget. Additional information about how NAMCS assures your confidentiality may be found here.
If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, please call the NCHS ERB at 1–800–223–8118 and say you are calling about Protocol #2021-03.
The NAMCS, falls under Section 306(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 242k).
No, participation is voluntary. You may stop participation at any time, and there are no penalties for nonparticipation. If you participate, you are giving consent for this Provider Interview Component questionnaire and for your deidentified survey information to be used for future research by NCHS or other investigators. Any future use of your deidentified survey information is controlled, and will only occur after a rigorous review and approval process. We may also carry out additional healthcare research by linking your survey responses to administrative medical information and other related records. This process is also controlled and requires review and approval before any linked data can be accessed.
There are no direct benefits to providers, but if you participate you will be contributing to the national description of ambulatory care. This will result in more reliable data, which will allow researchers (including other healthcare providers) to better assess the current state of ambulatory medical care use and provision.
However, your participation is very important. If you do not participate, providers like you may be underrepresented in the survey and resulting national data. If you do not feel comfortable or cannot answer a specific question, you may leave the question blank. However, there are some critical questions that will be identified by the web survey instrument if left blank.
The provider to whom the survey is addressed can answer the questions. However, if the provider is not available, a knowledgeable office staff member may also answer the questions on their behalf.
Yes! The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is legally bound to ensure the confidentiality of all survey respondents. NAMCS Provider Interview Component data are deidentified before being released for research and do not include any provider identifying information.
We take your privacy very seriously. All information that relates to or describes identifiable characteristics of individuals, a practice, or an establishment will be used only for statistical purposes. NCHS staff, contractors, and agents will not disclose or release responses in identifiable form without the consent of the individual or establishment in accordance with Section 308(d) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 242m[d]) and the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2018 (CIPSEA Pub. L. No. 115-435, 132 Stat. 5529 § 302). In accordance with CIPSEA, every NCHS employee, contractor, and agent has taken an oath and is subject to a jail term of up to 5 years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both if he or she willfully disclose ANY identifiable information about you. In addition to the above cited laws, NCHS complies with the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015 (6 U.S.C. §§ 151 and 151 note), which protects federal information systems from cybersecurity risks by screening their networks.
For more information on the confidentiality of the NAMCS Provider Interview Component data, please go to the National Health Care Survey’s Privacy Protection page.
For specific questions about how NCHS protects the information participants provide, please contact:
NCHS Confidentiality Office
Telephone Number: 1–888–642–4159
Email: nchsconfidentiality@cdc.gov
- Edited data files are released to the public through the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) website.
- The National Center for Health Statistics publishes a number of web tables, reports, and fact sheets using NAMCS data.
If you have questions or comments about participation, please contact:
Ambulatory and Hospital Care Statistics Branch
National Center for Health Statistics
3311 Toledo Road
Hyattsville, Maryland 20782
Phone: 800–392–2862
Email: ambcare@cdc.gov
If you have questions about NAMCS unrelated to participation, please contact:
Ambulatory and Hospital Care Statistics Branch
National Center for Health Statistics
3311 Toledo Road
Hyattsville, Maryland 20782
301–458–4600