2002 NATIONAL AMBULATORY MEDICAL CARE SURVEY DATA FILE
                           AND FILE DOCUMENTATION


                      WARNING - DATA USE RESTRICTIONS!
                        Read Carefully before Using

    The Public Health Service Act (Section 308 (d)) provides that the data
    collected by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers
    for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), may be used only for the
    purpose of health statistical reporting and analysis.

    Any effort to determine the identity of any reported case is prohibited
    by this law.

    NCHS does all it can to assure that the identity of data subjects cannot
    be disclosed.  All direct identifiers, as well as any characteristics 
    that might lead to identification, are omitted from the dataset.  Any
    intentional identification or disclosure of a person or establishment
    violates the assurances of confidentiality given to the providers of the
    information.  Therefore, users will:

       1.  Use the data in this dataset for statistical reporting and
           analysis only.

       2.  Make no use of the identity of any person or establishment
           discovered inadvertently and advise the Director, NCHS, of any
           such discovery.

       3.  Not link this dataset with individually identifiable data from
           other NCHS or non-NCHS datasets.

    By using these data, you signify your agreement to comply with the 
    above-stated statutorily based requirements.
                      
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   The files listed below comprise the 2002 National Ambulatory Medical
   Care Survey with complete file documentation.  
      
   For ease of transmission, the data file has been converted into a self-
   extracting compressed format.  To load and expand the NAMCS data file, 
   do the following: first, copy the compressed file onto your hard drive 
   into an appropriate subdirectory (for example, NAMCS).  Then go to the 
   DOS prompt in that subdirectory and type the name of the file (NAMCS02)
   without its extension.  

   Prior to the 1999 data release, the NAMCS documentation was produced in 
   multiple files which were then compressed into a single self-extracting 
   file in ASCII format.  Beginning with the 1999 release, the 
   documentation file has been produced as a single file in PDF format which 
   can be viewed or downloaded from the above address.  This file is not 
   compressed.
 
                                                             Size (bytes)
   File Name          File Description                 Compressed Uncompressed
  
   NAMCS02.EXE        NAMCS dataset                       1,530KB  20,852KB        
   DOC02.PDF          NAMCS documentation file                        744KB
   

   CAUTION - Because the NAMCS is a sample survey, the application of 
   weights to the sample data is REQUIRED to produce national estimates
   of office visits, as well as to accurately assess the sampling error of
   statistics based on the survey data.  Please refer to the appropriate
   sections of the documentation file for information on how to apply the 
   weights and to obtain relative standard errors of national estimates.

                                                                                                
   For questions, suggestions, or comments concerning NAMCS data, please
   contact the Ambulatory Care Statistics Branch at (301) 458-4600.
   These and other survey data are also available on CD-ROM and public use
   data tape, as well as in published summaries.  For additional information
   on NCHS data products, contact the:

                   Office of Information Services, NCHS
                   3311 Toledo Road
                   Hyattsville, MD 20782
                   Tel: (301) 458-4636 
                   E-mail: nchsquery@cdc.gov
                   Internet: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/