What's New

 

Did You Know?

• NAMCS data can be used to make physician estimates as well as visit estimates.
• As part of the survey induction process, physicians are interviewed about themselves and their practices, using the Physician Induction Interview Form.  NAMCS public use files from 2005 forward contain a physician-level weight that can be used to make estimates of office-based physicians who saw patients during their reporting week, representing the majority of NAMCS participants. The public use files contain a variety of physician-level variables, and additional items are available through the NCHS Research Data Center. The RDC files also contain records for NAMCS physicians who are not included on the public use files for various reasons (did not see patients during reporting week, did not submit visit forms). Including these physicians in one’s analysis along with those who saw patients can provide national estimates of all office-based physicians.
• A recent example of physician-level NAMCS data appeared in the QuickStats section of CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). It shows acceptance by physicians of various forms of payment from new patients in 1999-00 and 2008-09.

 

Data Products

• Please note that the 2009 NHAMCS ED Public Use File Documentation and SAS Format file (ed09for.txt) have been revised to include a correction to the labeling of categories for the Patient Residence item. (1/2012)
• The Ambulatory Care Drug Database has been updated to reflect 2009 NAMCS and NHAMCS data. The database provides a look up tool for all of the drugs in NAMCS and NHAMCS along with their characteristics. (12/2011) 
• New geocoded data for NAMCS and NHAMCS 1999-2009 are now available at the NCHS Research Data Center! These data consist of distances between each patient’s ZIP Code of residence and the nearest hospital [PDF - 156 KB] and Federally Qualified Health Center [PDF - 136 KB]. (12/2011)
• Data from the 2011 NAMCS Electronic Medical Records Supplement are now available for use in the NCHS Research Data Center (RDC). Please refer to NAMCS and NHAMCS Restricted Data Available at the NCHS Research Data Center [PDF - 40 KB], see the RDC file layout [ PDF - 76 KB ], visit the RDC website, or contact the Ambulatory and Hospital Care Statistics Branch for more information. (12/2011)
• The 2009 NHAMCS Emergency Department Public Use File has been updated to include a change to the visit disposition variable ADMITHOS (admit to this hospital). Original file data are correct, but it was discovered that some researchers were not aware that the disposition OBSHOS (admitted to observation unit, then hospitalized) should also be used to capture visits resulting in hospital admission. To simplify matters, we have edited ADMITHOS to “Yes” whenever OBSHOS is “Yes.” Therefore, ADMITHOS will now reflect all visits resulting in hospital admission, either directly or through the observation unit. A note regarding this change has also been added to the Public Use Data File Documentation. Researchers using the original version of the file who are interested in hospital admissions need only select records where ADMITHOS is “Yes” or OBSHOS is “Yes” to capture all hospital admissions. (9/2011)
• SPSS syntax files for 2007, 2008, and 2009 NAMCS and NHAMCS Public Use Data Files are now available for downloading. (9/2011)
• A new 1998 NHAMCS Outpatient Department Public Use File is now available for downloading. It includes corrections to the CHOLEST variable and the POPSUM variable. (9/2011)
• 2009 NHAMCS Public Use Micro-Data Files are Available!
  The 2009 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey Emergency and Outpatient Department Public Use Micro-Data Files and documentation are now available for downloading. SAS files for reading and formatting the data are also available, with Stata and SPSS files to come soon. (7/2011)
• 2009 NHAMCS Data Are Now Available for Use in the NCHS Research Data Center (RDC).
  Please refer to NAMCS and NHAMCS Restricted Data Available at the NCHS Research Data Center [PDF - 37 KB], visit the RDC website, or contact the Ambulatory and Hospital Care Statistics Branch for more information. (6/2011)
• 2009 NAMCS Public Use Micro-Data File is Available!
  The 2009 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey Public Use Micro-Data File and documentation are now available for downloading. SAS files for reading and formatting the data are also available, with SPSS and Stata files to come soon. The 2009 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey public use micro-data files and documentation should be available in the near future. (5/2011)
• Please read this important information about Expected Sources of Payment Data in NAMCS and NHAMCS [ PDF - 44 KB]
• 2008 NHAMCS Emergency and Outpatient Department Public Use Micro-Data Files have been re-released with data on electronic medical records!
  The survey documentation has been updated as well. (4/2011)
• 2009 NAMCS Data Are Now Available for Use in the NCHS Research Data Center (RDC).
  Please refer to NAMCS and NHAMCS Restricted Data Available at the NCHS Research Data Center [PDF - 37 KB], visit the RDC website, or contact the Ambulatory and Hospital Care Statistics Branch for more information. (4/2011)
• A revision has been made to the CSTRATM variable for a hospital on the 2003 NHAMCS Outpatient Department Public Use File.
  This was done to correct the occurrence of a singleton (single case stratum) which caused problems when trying to compute variances with statistical software. (4/2011)
• A revision has been made to the CPSUM variable on the 2006, 2007, and 2008 NAMCS Public Use Files.
  A problem has recently been discovered with the CPSUM design variable which causes underestimation of variance for some estimates. This issue only affects visits in a subset of community health centers, specifically, those in which more than one physician participated in the NAMCS in a given year. Because visits to community health centers account for such a small percentage of NAMCS visits in these years, the problem is restricted to a small proportion of weighted visits overall (about 1% each year), but the impact will be more deeply felt when analyzing visits to community health centers separately. The percent of weighted visits to community health centers requiring modification of the CPSUM variable each year ranged from 39-50%. The CPSUM variable has been modified, and revised public use files for 2006, 2007, and 2008 NAMCS are now available. (3/2011)
• Revised SAS Input Statements for 1995 and 1996 NAMCS and NHAMCS-OPD Public Use Files Are now Available.
  It has recently come to our attention that the SAS input statements for these files contained a missing dot in the entries for four variables: BLODLEAD, CHOLEST, MRI, and OTHCOUN. Such an error would not abort the program, but would result in incorrect data being displayed for these four variables. The SAS input statements have been corrected and are available now. (3/2011)

 

Announcements

New Component Added to NHAMCS

Beginning in 2009, hospital-based ambulatory surgery centers were included in the sample design for the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. In 2010, free-standing ambulatory surgery centers were added as well. Previously, ambulatory surgery data were collected by the National Survey of Ambulatory Surgery, which was last fielded in 2006.

Attention Health Care Providers!

The course entitled "National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey Methods: What Clinicians Need to Know " is now eligible for 1.25 hours of Category 1 continuing medical education (CME), 1.4 hours of continuing nursing education (CNE) and 0.1 continuing education (CEU) credits. Please contact our office for more information.

 

Publications

• Electronic Health Record Systems and Intent to Apply for Meaningful Use Incentives Among Office-based Physician Practices: United States, 2001–2011 (11/2011)
• Blood Pressure Measurements at Emergency Department Visits by Adults: United States, 2007–2008 (8/2011)
• Nurse Practitioners, Certified Nurse Midwives, and Physician Assistants in Physician Offices (8/2011)
• Community Health Centers: Providers, Patients, and Content of Care (7/2011)
• Liquid-based Cytology Test Use by Office-based Physicians: United States, 2006-2007. 8 pp. (PHS) 2011-1250. June 1, 2011[PDF - 113 KB] (6/2011)
• Ambulatory Medical Care Utilization Estimates for 2007 [PDF - 797 KB](4/2011)
• Hospital Preparedness for Emergency Response: United States, 2008 [PDF - 204 KB] (3/2011)
• Electronic Medical Record/Electronic Health Record Systems of Office-based Physicians: United States, 2009 and Preliminary 2010 State Estimates (12/2010)
• More NAMCS and NHAMCS publications are available here

 

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