National Amb

Factsheet

ulatory Medical Care Survey

UROLOGY

Annual office visit rates by patient’s 

age and sex: 2009

<25 1

25–44 3

45–64 9

65–74 28

75+ 30

Male 11

Female 4

Number of visits per 100 persons per year

In 2009, there were an estimated 

22 million visits to nonfederally

employed, office-based urologists 

in the United States. 

The annual visit rate increased with 

age. Males had a higher visit rate 

than females. 

Primary expected source of 

payment included:

 Private insurance — 67% 

 Medicare — 44%

 Medicaid — 6%

The major reason for visit was:

 Chronic problem, routine — 42%

 New problem — 26%

 Pre- or post-surgery/injury

 follow-up — 13%

 Chronic problem, flare-up — 12%

 Preventative care — 5%

 

The top 5 reasons given by patients 

for visiting urologists were:

 Cancer of urinary and male genital 

 tract

 Progress visit

 Findings of blood tests

 Urinary tract diseases except 

 cystitis

 Frequency and urgency of urination

 

The top 5 diagnoses were:

 Malignant neoplasms

 Hyperplasia of prostate

 Symptoms involving the urinary 

 system (e.g., incontinence, 

 retention, dysuria)

 Other diseases of male genital organs

 Calculus of kidney and ureter

Medications were provided or 

prescribed at 64 percent of office visits. 

The top 5 generic substances utilized 

were:

 Tamsulosin

 Aspirin

 Ciprofloxacin

 Lisinopril

 Simvastatin

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

33

26 24

12

5

<25 25–44 45–64 65–74 75+

Patient’s age in years
THE IMPORTANCE OF NAMCS DATA Urology

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

journals, including JAMA, Journal of Urology, and Clinical Infectious Diseases. Here are just 

a few recent publications using NAMCS data: 

Hollingsworth JM, Birkmeyer JD, Zhang YS, Zhang L, Hollenbeck BK. Imaging Use Among 

Employed and Self-Employed Urologists. J Urol. Oct 2010. [Epub ahead of print]

Craig BM, Bell BA, Quinn GP, Vadaparampil ST. Prevalence of Cancer Visits by Physician 

Specialty, 1997–2006. J Cancer Educ. Mar 2010. [Epub ahead of print]

Farwell WR, Linder JA, Jha AK. Trends in prostate-specific antigen testing from 1995 through 

2004. Arch Intern Med. 167(22):2497–2502. 2007.

Taur Y, Smith MA. Adherence to the Infectious Diseases Society of America guidelines in the 

treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infection. Clin Infect Dis. 44(6):769–74. Mar 2007.

[Epub Feb 2007]

Scales CD Jr, Curtis LH, Norris RD, Schulman KA, Albala DM, Moul JW. Prostate specific 

antigen testing in men older than 75 years in the United States. J Urol. 176(2):511–4. Aug 2006.

Kim SH, Boye M, Bhattacharyya SK, Coyne K, Dhawan R. Medical visits among adults with 

symptoms commonly associated with an overactive bladder. BJU Int. 97(3):551–4. Mar 2006.

Kallen AJ, Welch HG, Sirovich BE. Current antibiotic therapy for isolated urinary tract infections 

in women. Arch Intern Med. 166(6):635–9. Mar 2006.

Young SE, Mainous AG 3rd, Diaz VA, Everett CJ. Practice patterns in sildenafil prescribing. Fam 

Med. 38(2):110–5. Feb 2006.

Underwood W III, West B, Gonzalez H. PSA Testing Utilization by Urologists and Primary Care 

Physicians: Data from the 2000 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Journal of Urology. 

171(4). Supplement 130. May 2004.

Foxman B. Epidemiology of urinary tract infections: Incidence, morbidity, and economic costs. 

Dis Mon. 49(2):53–70. Feb 2003.

Huang ES, Stafford RS. National patterns in the treatment of urinary tract infections in women by 

ambulatory care physicians. Arch Intern Med. 162(1):41–7. Jan 2002.

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

and reports, is available on our Web site.

NAMCS(FS)-15 (7-11)