National Amb

Factsheet

ulatory Medical Care Survey

INTERNAL MEDICINE

In 2009, there were an estimated 

153 million visits to nonfederally 

employed, office-based physicians 

specializing in internal medicine in 

the United States. Eighty percent of the 

visits were made by persons 45 years 

and over.

The annual visit rate increased with 

age. Females had a higher visit rate 

than males. 

Primary expected source of 

payment included:

 Private insurance — 61%

 Medicare — 37%

 Medicaid — 10%

 No insurance1

 — 3% 1

 No insurance is defined as having only self-pay, no charge, or 

 charity visits as payment sources.

The major reason for visit was:

 Chronic problem, routine — 38% 

 New problem — 34%

 Preventative care — 17%

 Chronic problem, flare-up — 8%

 Pre- or post-surgery/injury 

 follow-up — 2%

The top 5 reasons given by patients 

for visiting internists were: 

 General medical exam 

 Progress visit

 Hypertension

 Diabetes melitus

 Cough

The top 5 diagnoses were:

 Essential hypertension

 Diabetes mellitus

 Disorders of lipoid metabolism

 Other symptoms

 Arthropathies and related disorders

Medications were provided or

prescribed at 88 percent of office visits. 

The top 5 generic substances utilized 

were:

 Aspirin

 Lisinopril

 Simvastatin

 Levothyroxine

 Metoprolol

For more information, contact the 

Ambulatory Care Statistics Branch at 

301-458-4600 or visit our Web site at 

<www.cdc.gov/namcs>.

Percent distribution of office visits by 

patient’s age: 2009

37

25

18 16

4

<25 25–44 45–64 65–74 75+

Patient’s age in years

Annual office visit rates by patient’s 

age and sex: 2009

<25 5

25–44 31

45–64 72

65–74 134

75+ 220

Male 41

Female 60

Number of visits per 100 persons per year
THE IMPORTANCE OF NAMCS DATA Internal Medicine

NAMCS data are widely used in research studies published in nationally recognized medical 

journals, including JAMA, Archives of Internal Medicine, and Medical Care. Here are just a 

few recent publications using NAMCS data: 

Ananthakrishnan AN, McGinley EL, Saeian K. Length of office visits for gastrointestinal disease: 

impact of physician specialty. Am J Gastroenterol. 105(8):1719–25. Aug 2010.

Bleich SN, Pickett-Blakely O, Cooper LA. Physician practice patterns of obesity diagnosis and 

weight-related counseling. Patient Educ Couns. Mar 2010. [Epub ahead of print]

Fang J, Keenan NL, Ayala C. Health care services provided during physician office visits for 

hypertension: differences by specialty. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 12(2):89–95. Feb 2010.

Decker SL, Burt CW, Sisk JE. Trends in diabetes treatment patterns among primary care providers. 

J Ambul Care Manage. 32(4):333–341. Oct–Dec 2009.

Friedenberg FK, Hanlon A, Vanar V, Nehemia D, Mekapati J, Nelson DB, Richter JE. Trends in 

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease as Measured by the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. 

Dig Dis Sci. Oct 2009. [Epub ahead of print]

Neumiller JJ, Sclar DA, Robison LM, Setter SM, Skaer TL. Rate of obesity in U.S. ambulatory 

patients with diabetes mellitus: A national assessment of office-based physician visits. Prim Care 

Diabetes. Jul 2009. [Epub ahead of print]

Valderas JM, Starfield B, Forrest CB, Sibbald B, Roland M. Ambulatory care provided by 

office-based specialists in the United States. Ann Fam Med. 7(2):104–11. Mar–Apr 2009.

Peek ME, Tang H, Alexander GC, Chin MH. National Prevalence of Lifestyle Counseling or 

Referral Among African-Americans and Whites with Diabetes. J Gen Intern Med. Aug 2008.

[Epub ahead of print]

Keyhani S, Scobie JV, Hebert PL, McLaughlin MA. Gender disparities in blood pressure control and 

cardiovascular care in a national sample of ambulatory care visits. Hypertension. 51(4):1149–55. 

Apr 2008. [Epub Feb 2008]

McAlpine DD, Wilson AR. Trends in obesity-related counseling in primary care: 1995–2004. Med 

Care. 45(4):322–9. Apr 2007.

Steinman MA, Chren M, Landefeld CS. What's in a Name? Use of Brand Name Versus Generic 

Drug Names in United States Outpatient Practice. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 

22(5):645–648. May 2007.

The complete list of publications using NAMCS data, which includes hundreds of articles and 

reports, is available on our Web site.

NAMCS(FS)-5 (7-11)