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Physician Experiences Related to COVID-19
The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS), conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), collects data from physician offices to describe practice characteristics and patterns of ambulatory care delivery in the United States. After the COVID-19 pandemic began, NCHS added questions to the 2020 and 2021 NAMCS Physician Induction Interview to evaluate physicians’ experiences related to the pandemic. Specifically, physicians in office-based settings were asked about: shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE); experiences with COVID-19 testing; providers in their office who tested positive for COVID-19; turning away COVID-19 patients; and telemedicine or telehealth technology use at their office. Measures related to these topic areas are further described and displayed in data dashboards on the following pages.
Tabulated data show the percentage of office-based physicians who experienced shortages of PPE at their office during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tabulated data show office-based physicians’ experiences related to COVID-19, including the percentage with the ability to test for COVID-19, the percentage who had to turn away or refer elsewhere COVID-19 patients, and the percentage with any providers in their office testing positive for COVID-19.
Tabulated data show the percentage of office-based physicians who used telemedicine or telehealth technology before and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Ambulatory Health Care Data
- About the Ambulatory Health Care Surveys
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