
Ambulatory Health Care Data

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. Findings are based on a national sample of visits to nonfederally employed office-based physicians primarily engaged in direct patient care, and a national sample of visits to health centers.
The National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) is designed to collect data on the utilization and provision of ambulatory care services in hospital emergency and outpatient departments and ambulatory surgery locations. Findings are based on a national sample of visits to the emergency departments, outpatient departments, and ambulatory surgery locations of noninstitutional general and short-stay hospitals.
The National Electronic Health Records Survey (NEHRS) is designed to collect information on office-based physicians’ adoption and use of electronic health record (EHR) systems, practice information, patient engagement, controlled substances prescribing practices, use of health information exchange (HIE), and documentation and burden associated with medical record systems. Findings are based on a sample of nonfederally employed office-based physicians in the U.S. who are primarily engaged in direct patient care.
The National Health Care Surveys (including NAMCS, NHAMCS, and NHCS) are working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs: Promoting Interoperability (PI) (formerly known as Meaningful Use (MU)) and the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). Click here to find out more.
Data Products
- 2019 NAMCS Summary Tables [PDF – 864 KB] (1/2023)
- 2020 NHAMCS Emergency Department Summary Tables [PDF – 1 MB] (12/2022)
- Estimates of Emergency Department Visits in the United States, 2016-2020 (12/2022)
- 2019 NAMCS public use data file (11/2022)
- 2018 NAMCS public use file addendum (11/2022)
Publications
- Opioids Prescribed to Adults at Discharge From Emergency Departments: United States, 2017–2020 (1/19/2023)
- Emergency Department Visit Rates by Selected Characteristics: United States, 2020 (11/21/2022)
- Experiences Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic Among U.S. Physicians in Office-based Settings, 2020–2021 [PDF – 305 KB] (9/28/2022)
- Emergency Department Visits by Adults With Chronic Conditions Associated With Severe COVID-19 Illness: United States, 2017–2019 [PDF – 1,013 KB] (9/1/2022)
- Characteristics of Visits to Health Centers: United States, 2020 (6/2022)