About Health Care Surveys

Each one of the National Health Care Surveys collects core information which remains stable over time. Consequently, trends in the types of care delivered in each setting can be monitored in an objective and reliable manner and can be examined in relation to characteristics of providers, patients, and clinical management of patients' care. In addition, the surveys are flexible enough to accommodate special data collection modules and to sample new provider organizations as new information is needed.

Topics addressed by our surveys

Data from the National Health Care Surveys have a wide variety of uses in answering key questions of interest to health services researchers and policy makers about what drives the cost and quality of health care. The list below touches upon some of the many topics that can be examined using these data.

• Health care utilization
• Quality, including patient safety
• Patterns of care for a specific condition or population
• Disparities in health care
• Medication utilization
• Electronic medical records

Technical assistance and comments

The National Health Care Surveys have professionals dedicated to collecting, analyzing, and disseminating critical health care information for the entire nation. For assistance with technical questions about our surveys, or to make suggestions or comments about how we can better serve you, please contact us via CDC-INFO. For specific data questions, use the contact information below.

Questions about Ambulatory Care 301-458-4600
Questions about Hospital Care 301-458-4321
Questions about Long-term Care 301-458-4747

About the Division of Health Care Statistics

The National Health Care Surveys are conducted by the Division of Health Care Statistics (DHCS), National Center for Health Statistics. The Division has three branches and an Office of the Director.

For more information, call: 301-458-4078

• Division Office of the Director
  Denys Lau, Acting Director
• Ambulatory and Hospital Care Statistics Branch
  Carol J. DeFrances, Chief
• Long-term Care Statistics Branch
  Lauren Harris-Kojetin, Chief
• Technical Services Branch
  Askari Rizvi, Chief