2015 NATIONAL AMBULATORY MEDICAL CARE SURVEY PUBLIC USE 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 2015 National Ambulatory Medical
   Care Survey Public Use File with complete file documentation.  
                                                            Size (bytes)
   File Name          File Description                Compressed Uncompressed
  
   namcs2015.ZIP      NAMCS dataset                       3.0 MB  75.1 MB        
   doc2015.PDF        NAMCS documentation file                     1.6 MB

   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.
      
   For ease of transmission, the data file has been converted into a zipped
   (compressed) format which must be uncompressed prior to use. To uncompress,
   you can do the following:    

   1) Create a new folder on your local workstation, for example, C:\MYFILES\NAMCS2015

   2) Download to the new folder the file namcs2015.zip from the FTP 
      server: 
      
      ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Datasets/NAMCS/

   3) Right-click on the name of the compressed file from your directory screen. On
      the pop-up menu, there should be an option to extract the file to a location of your 
      choosing.

 ***************************************************************************************************
  NOTE: Detailed instructions for SAS, Stata, and SPSS users are provided in separate readme files
  within each of these FTP folders:

  For SAS users: ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/NAMCS/sas/
  For Stata users: ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/NAMCS/stata/
  For SPSS users: ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/NAMCS/spss/

  IMPORTANT: Starting with 2015 NAMCS, we are also providing complete pre-made SPSS, Stata, and SAS
  data sets, in addition to providing the code needed to create your own data sets.  Please see the
  detailed instructions for more information.  These pre-made files are also in the SAS, Stata, and
  SPSS folders cited above.

 ****************************************************************************************************

   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 and Hospital Care Statistics Branch at 
   (301) 458-4600 or by email at ambcare@cdc.gov. 

   For additional information on NCHS data products, please call CDC-INFO at 
   800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636), TTY (888-232-6348), Monday-Friday 8am-8pm EST, 
   or use the CDC-INFO online request form at https://www.cdc.gov/info.