National Amb

Factsheet

ulatory Medical Care Survey

GENERAL/FAMILY PRACTICE

Annual office visit rates by patient’s 

age and sex: 2009

<15 38

15–24 54

25–44 75

45–64 103

65–74 134

75+ 147

Male 68

Female 91

Number of visits per 100 persons per year

In 2009, there were an estimated 

240 million visits to nonfederally 

employed, office-based general and 

family practitioners in the United States.

Percent distribution of office visits by 

patient’s age: 2009

34 

25

10 11 11 9

<15 15–24 25–44 45–64 65–74 75+

Patient’s age in years

The major reason for visit was:

 New problem — 46%

 Chronic problem, routine — 25%

 Preventative care — 18%

 Chronic problem, flare-up — 8%

 Pre- or post-surgery/injury

 follow-up — 1%

The top 5 reasons given by patients 

for visiting general and family 

practitioners were:

 General medical exam 

 Cough

 Progress visit

 Medication

 Hypertension

The annual visit rate increased with age, and females had a higher visit rate The top 5 diagnoses were: than males. Essential hypertension

 Acute upper respiratory infections, 

 excluding pharyngitis

 Diabetes mellitus

 Spinal disorders

 General medical exam

Medications were provided or 

prescribed at 82 percent of office visits. 

The top 5 generic substances utilized 

were:

 Aspirin

 Lisinopril

 Simvastatin

 Levothyroxine

 Albuterol Primary expected source of 

payment included:

 Private insurance — 62% For more information, contact the 

Ambulatory Care Statistics Branch at Medicare — 21% 301-458-4600 or visit our Web site at Medicaid — 16% <www.cdc.gov/namcs>. No insurance1

 — 6%

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

 charity visits as payment sources.
THE IMPORTANCE OF NAMCS DATA General/Family Practice

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

journals, including JAMA, Archives of Family Medicine, and Journal of Family Practice. Here 

are just a few recent publications using NAMCS data: 

Katerndahl D, Wood R, Jaén CR. Family Medicine Outpatient Encounters are More Complex Than 

Those of Cardiology and Psychiatry. J Am Board Fam Med. 24(1):6–15. Jan–Feb 2011.

Hing E, Hooker RS, Ashman JJ. Primary Health Care in Community Health Centers and Comparison 

with Office-Based Practice. J Community Health. Nov 2010. [Epub ahead of print]

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.

Cohen D, Coco A. Declining trends in the provision of prenatal care visits by family physicians. 

Ann Fam Med. 7(2):128–33. Mar–Apr 2009.

Morgan PA, Strand J, Ostbye T, Albanese MA. Missing in action: care by physician assistants and 

nurse practitioners in national health surveys. Health Serv Res. 42(5):2022–37. Oct 2007.

Binns HJ, Lanier D, Pace WD, Galliher JM, Ganiats TG, Grey M, Ariza AJ, Williams R; Primary 

Care Network Survey (PRINS) Participants. Describing primary care encounters: the Primary Care 

Network Survey and the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Ann Fam Med. 5(1):39–47. 

Jan–Feb 2007.

Licciardone JC, Clearfield MB, Guillory VJ. Clinical practice characteristics of osteopathic and 

allopathic primary care physicians at academic health centers: results from the National Ambulatory 

Medical Care Survey. Acad Med. 84(6):744–50. Jun 2009.

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

Med Care. 45(4):322–9. Apr 2007.

Fiscella K, Franks P. Does the content of primary care visits differ by the racial composition of 

physicians' practices? Am J Med. 119(4):348–53. Apr 2006.

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

reports, is available on our Web site.

NAMCS(FS)-3 (7-11)