National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 1996 Outpatient Department Summary

Advance Data 294.   In 1996, an estimated 67.2 million visits were made to Outpatient Departments (OPDs) of non- Federal, short-stay, or general hospitals in the United States, about 25.4 visits per 100 persons. This report presents data on OPD visits from the 1996 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Survey (NHAMCS). NHAMCS is part of the ambulatory care component of the National Health Care Survey which measures health care utilization across various type of providers.

Data Highlights:

Females made 61.5 percent of all OPD visits. Visit rates were higher for females than for males overall and in the age groups between 15 and 44 years of age

White persons made 69.4 percent of all OPD visits, with black persons and Asian/Pacific Islanders accounting for 27.4 percent and 3.0 percent respectively. Visit rates for black persons were higher than for white persons overall and in the age categories between 15 and 74 years of age.

Progress visits, general medical examination, and routine prenatal examinations were the most frequently mentioned reasons for visit.

Imaging was most often in the form an x-ray and was either ordered or performed at 8.4 percent of the visits.

Keywords: outpatient department visits, diagnoses, injury, ICD-9-CM

This page last reviewed January 11, 2007