NAMCS Brochure

Attachment L NAMCS Brochure
enables you to locate the patient's record without
disclosing their name. The MRN also helps our field
representatives to easily move from one record-keeping
system to another. Lastly, MRN is used during our
reabstraction study which evaluates the reliability of the
abstraction process.

Under what authorization do you collect this
information?
NAMCS falls under Section 306 of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 242k) which permits data
collection for health research.

Will patient and physician privacy and
confidentiality be maintained?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC)
National Center for Health Statistics is legally bound to
assure confidentiality of all responses, including any
information that might result in a physician’s practice or
patient being identified. The confidentiality of the data is
protected by Section 308(d) of the Public Health Service
Act (42 U.S.C. 242m(d)) and the Confidential Information
Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA,
Title 5 of Public Law 107-347). Information collected in
NAMCS is used only for statistical purposes. The data files
that are released for research do not include any provider or
patient identifying information.
In addition, NCHS complies with the Federal Cybersecurity
Enhancement Act of 2015 (6 U.S.C. §§ 151 & 151 note).
This law permits monitoring information systems for the
purpose of protecting a network from hacking, denial of
service attacks and other security vulnerabilities. The
software used for monitoring may scan information that is
transiting, stored on, or processed by the system. If the
information triggers a cyber threat indicator, the
information may be intercepted and reviewed for cyber
threats.
The Cybersecurity Act specifies if any information that is
scanned by the cybersecurity software programs is found
to be suspicious, it may be reviewed for specific threats by
computer network experts working for the government (or
contractors or agents who have governmental authority to
do so). The Act further specifies that such information may
only be used for the purpose of protecting information and
information systems from cybersecurity risks.

Does the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule on
health information allow me to participate in
this survey?
Yes. The Privacy Rule permits you to make disclosures
of protected health information without patient
authorization for public health purposes or for research
that has been approved by an Institutional Review Board
(IRB). This survey meets both of these criteria.
Additionally, disclosures may be made under a data use
agreement with NCHS. If you have questions about your
rights as a respondent, you may call the IRB at
l–800–223–8118. The IRB is an independent board that
protects the interests of people who take part in studies.

We need your help to
produce valid public
health information!

Is participation mandatory?
No, participation is completely voluntary.

What are the benefits of participating?
By participating in NAMCS, you will be able to
contribute to the national description of office-based and
CHC-based patient care. Participation will result in more
reliable data, which will permit researchers, including
other health care providers, to better assess the current
state of ambulatory medical care utilization and
provision. NAMCS fulfills an ongoing need for national
statistics on ambulatory care that can be used to improve
professional education curricula for health care workers,
formulate health policy, inform medical practice
management, and evaluate quality of care. Failure to
participate lessens the accuracy of data used by
physicians and other researchers.

Please consider
participating
in NAMCS!

For specific questions about how NCHS protects
the information you provide, contact:
Brian Ward, Ph.D.
Statistician
3311 Toledo Road
Hyattsville, MD 20782–2064
Telephone: 301–458–4568
Email: [email protected]
https://www.cdc.gov/NAMCS

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
CS270274-A

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Health Statistics

Frequently asked questions
about NAMCS
What is NAMCS?
The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey
(NAMCS) is the nation’s foremost study of ambulatory
care provided at physicians’ offices and has been
conducted since 1973. It focuses on visits made to
nonfederally employed office-based physicians who are
primarily engaged in direct patient care. Beginning in
2006, the survey also includes an annual sample of visits
to community health centers (CHCs). NAMCS provides
information on patient, provider, and visit characteristics.
Participants in NAMCS are asked to provide data on
approximately 30 patient visits during a randomly
assigned 1-week reporting period. The encounter
information includes items on patients' age, sex, and
race; physician diagnosis; diagnostic and therapeutic
services ordered or provided; and medications prescribed
or provided.

Who is eligible to participate
Nonfederally employed physicians (excluding those in
the specialties of anesthesiology, radiology, and
pathology) who are classified by the American Medical
Association or the American Osteopathic Association as
primarily engaged in office-based patient care are
randomly chosen to participate in NAMCS. Physicians
and non-physician clinicians (i.e., physician assistants,
nurse practitioners, nurse midwives) working at CHCs
are also eligible to participate.

How are the data used?
NAMCS data are used to statistically describe the
patients who use office-based physician services and
services provided at CHCs, the conditions most often
treated, and the diagnostic and therapeutic services
rendered, including medications prescribed. These data
are widely used by health care researchers, medical
schools, policy analysts, congressional staff, the media,

and many others to improve our knowledge of medical
practice patterns. The data are disseminated in the form
of public health reports, journal articles, and microdata
files.

Why does the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act Privacy Rule apply to the
data collected for NAMCS?
The Privacy Rule applies to data collected for NAMCS
because we are asking you to provide certain
information about patients without their authorization.
For public health and research purposes, NAMCS
collects information from the patient's medical record,
such as visit date, birth date, and residential ZIP code.
Although not directly identifiable, these data are
considered protected health information as defined by
the Privacy Rule. As described above, the rule allows
you to disclose this information for public health and
research purposes. We are legally bound to ensure the
confidentiality of your responses, including anything
that might result in a practice being identified. The
data files released for research do not include any
identifying provider or patient information. Since
2012, we have been collecting patients’ medical
record numbers. While this is considered directly
identifiable data, provisions of the Privacy Rule still
permit collection of this type of data. Medical record
numbers are removed from the file before final data
transmission, and you have the ability to choose
which data is ultimately released. As described
above, the rule allows you to disclose both types of
information for public health and research purposes.

Why are you collecting patient medical record
numbers in the instrument if you eventually
remove it from the data?
The medical record number (MRN) allows us to contact
you regarding missing or conflicting information, and