U.S. Ambulatory Care Visits by Age, Sex, and Race

National Center for Health Statistics data details visits to physician offices, hospital outpatient departments, and emergency departments. The dataset is stratified by selected population characteristics including age, sex, and race. It is sourced from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

Use Cases

• Analyze visit volume and patterns across age groups and sex categories for emergency departments.
• Compare utilization rates for physician offices versus hospital outpatient departments by race categories.
• Model trends in ambulatory care access using demographic strata like age and sex.

Strengths

• Data is produced by the authoritative National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
• Covers three distinct healthcare settings: physician offices, outpatient departments, and emergency departments.
• Stratified by key demographic variables including age, sex, and race.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, column details, and sample sizes are not provided in the input.
• Data for physician office visits in 2017 is explicitly noted as unavailable, creating a gap.
• The description warns of critical information about measures and definitions being in separate documents, requiring additional review.

Provenance

Source

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Collection Method

National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey

Time Range

Multiple years, with a note that data for 2017 physician office visits is unavailable.

Freshness

The metadata was last updated in April 2025, indicating recent maintenance.

Geography

United States