HOW DO I USE THE NEW DRUG DATA? (with added information for 2007)


     Q.  How can I compare drug data across years when the classification 
     system is different starting with 2006 data? 

     A.  NCHS has developed a SAS program that will read in a previous year 
     of NAMCS or NHAMCS data, match medication codes from that dataset with 
     codes from the current ambulatory care drug database, and then drop the 
     old drug characteristics associated with that medication code, while 
     replacing them with the new Multum characteristics.  The original program 
     DRUGCHAR_MULTUM_2006.SAS can be downloaded from the Ambulatory Health Care 
     Data website, along with the ASCII text file MEDCODE_DRUGID_MAP_2006.DATA 
     that is used to replace the drug characteristics.  A new program and 
     database have been added for 2007 (DRUGCHAR_MULTUM_2007.SAS and
     (MEDCODE_DRUGID_MAP_2007.DATA).  It is recommended that you always use
     the most recent database and program to add drug characteristics, but
     the 2006 material is being retained in a separate folder should anyone
     need it.  The SAS programs are ready to use, only requiring that you 
     change path names in the program to reflect your own situation.  

     Q.  How can the ingredient data be combined with the basic public use 
     file? 

     A.  NCHS has also developed a SAS program that will add the ingredient file
     to the basic public use file, matching on the DRUGID variable.  This program
     and the corresponding ingredient file were first developed for use with 2006  
     data (ADD_DRUG_INGREDIENTS_2006.SAS and DRUG_INGREDIENTS_2006.DATA). 

     A new program and ingredient file have been developed for use with 2007 data
     (ADD_DRUG_INGREDIENTS_2007.SAS and DRUG_INGREDIENTS_2007.DATA). All of these 
     resources can be downloaded at the Ambulatory Health Care Data website in the
     Dataset Documentation section, under a directory on the ftp server called drugs.

     IMPORTANT NOTE: The ingredient programs and files are year-specific.  In other 
     words, if you want to add ingredients to the 2006 file, use the 2006 program and 
     ingredient file. It is not recommended that you use the 2007 program and 
     ingredient file with non-2007 survey years, or vice versa. The programs only 
     require that you change path names in the programs to reflect your own situation.  

     Need More Information? 

     SAS exercises (including examples of how to use the programs above) and 
     a PowerPoint presentation, which were developed for a workshop at the 
     2008 NCHS Data Users Conference, are also available for downloading at 
     our website under Staff Presentations.  

     If you need more information or technical assistance, please contact 
     the Ambulatory and Hospital Care Statistics Branch at 301-458-4600.