Introductory letter 2021 - revised 28AUG2020

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Health Statistics
3311 Toledo Road
Room 3543
Hyattsville, Maryland 20782

Full Name
Address 1
Address 2
City, State, Zip

Date

NHAMCS
Endorsing Organizations
American College of
Emergency Physicians
(ACEP)
American College of
Osteopathic Emergency
Physicians (ACOEP)
Emergency Nurses
Association (ENA)
Society for Academic
Emergency Medicine
(SAEM)
Society for Ambulatory
Anesthesia (SAMBA)
American Health
Information Management
Association (AHIMA)

Dear Provider
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) has been
conducting the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS), an annual study of
hospital-based outpatient care, since 1992. The purpose of this study is to collect information about the
large portion of ambulatory care provided by hospital emergency departments throughout the United
States. The information requested includes data about patient visits, and hospital and department
characteristics.
Many organizations and leaders in the health care community, including those providing the enclosed
letters of endorsement, have expressed their support and join me in urging your participation in this
meaningful study. Given the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, we recognize this is a
challenging time for medical professionals and you have many competing priorities. You may refuse to
participate or choose not to answer any question at any time without penalty or loss of benefits. Your
participation in the study will be of no direct benefit to you or your hospital, however, it will ensure that
hospitals like yours are represented in research that examines the utilization and provision of hospital-based
ambulatory medical care services in the United States.
The study will be conducted in three phases using an electronic questionnaire and will focus on a sample of
patient encounters during a randomly assigned 4-week reporting period. A representative of the U.S.
Census Bureau, acting as our agent, will be calling you to schedule an appointment regarding the details of
your participation.
During the first phase, the representative will conduct an interview with you or your designee that focuses
on some of the characteristics of your hospital and the capabilities of your electronic health records system;
it should take about 30 minutes. For the second phase, each Emergency Service Area administrator or their
designee is interviewed to determine eligible ambulatory care service areas; it should also take about 30
minutes. The final phase, which requires minimal input from your staff, is the abstraction of sampled
patient encounters from your medical records. In the weeks following the completion of this study, you may
be contacted again for a 15-minute reinterview, which is conducted as a quality control measure.
Participation is voluntary so you may refuse to answer any question or stop participating at any time
without penalty or loss of benefits.
NCHS employees and agents, including employees of the Census Bureau, comply with the requirements of
Section 308(d) of the Public Health Service Act (42 United States Code 242m(d)), the Confidential
Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (Title III of the Foundations for Evidence-Based
Policymaking Act of 2018 (Pub. L. No. 115-435, 132 Stat. 5529 § 302)), the Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act (HIPAA) (Public Law 104-191), and the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a.
NCHS and Census Bureau employees working on this study are required by law to keep all information
about your hospital and patients confidential. This information is subject to all of the published routine uses
as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notice 09-20-0167 Health Resources Utilization
Statistics.
If you have any questions regarding your participation, please call a NHAMCS representative at (800)
223-3815. Or, if you have questions about your rights as a participant in this research study, please call the
NCHS Ethics Review Board, toll free, at (800) 223-8118. Visit the NHAMCS participants website for more
information about the survey (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/ahcd/nhamcs_participant.htm). We greatly
appreciate your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Brian C. Moyer, Ph.D.
Director