Cypress, Beulah K.

National Center for Health Statistics (U.S.). Division of Health Care Statistics.

This report provides an estimate of public utilization of office-based physicians for purposes of preventive care. Its focus is on visits for certain examinations and tests that are likely to be under-taken because of the patient’s interest in good health maintenance or early detection of disease. Data on visits for such health-monitoring activities are collected in the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) of the National Center for Health Statistics. In this survey the patient’s complaint, symptom, or other reason for visit, expressed nearly as possible in the patient’s own words, is scorded by the physician in item 6 of the data collection form. Physicians are instructed to record key words or phrases verbatim to the extent possible. Figure 1 is a facsimile of the 1977-78 Patient Record used by participating physicians to record information about office visits. The principal reason (the reason that is listed first in item 6) is the one that in the physician’s judgment was most responsible for the patient making the visit. Data on reasons were classified and coded according to a reason for visit classification system presented in another report. PMID: 10254005 ad068acc.pdf

Journal Issue

National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (U.S.)

Statistics

United States

Stephen B. Thacker CDC Library collection