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. 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. In 2022, the physician sample of NAMCS was redesigned as the NAMCS Provider Interview Component. The Provider Interview Component focuses on physicians and PAs who are primarily engaged in direct patient care; this component is set to launch in 2023. An additional sample of advanced practice providers may be included in future years.
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)