Measuring ambulatory health care use in the United States: A comparison of 1996 estimates across four federal surveys

Abstract

The US Department of Health and Human Services currently sponsors a number of national surveys that have different primary objectives and methodologies, but all can be used in different ways to produce general estimates of the use of ambulatory care in the United States. Among these surveys are the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS). Through a comparison of 1996 survey estimates, this paper describes important methodological considerations when using these different data sources for measuring ambulatory use. This paper complements a previous article comparing estimates of hospital inpatient utilization across several federal data sources.