The Michigan Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: results and utility relative to the National Survey

Abstract

Percentage distributions for variables in the Michigan Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (MAMCS), both for the Detroit Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) and the State as a whole, are compared with those from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS). The MAMCS data are a subset of the NAMCS data, since the MAMCS was carried out by augmenting the NAMCS in Michigan. Differences in the impact of survey results for the three areas are examined in the context of planning and developing ambulatory health care services. A specific application of survey data is examined, namely, its use in planning the Health Care Institute of Wayne State University and the Detroit Medical Center. The survey results for the three areas are similar enough to warrant the use of data from the national survey in the planning and evaluation of health services locally, although special studies of a few items such as X-ray usage may be needed. To reestablish local credibility for national results, or to detect changes in patterns which may develop, another Statelevel survey is suggested at the time of a census. Based on the experience with the MAMCS, augmentation of the NAMCS or other national surveys would be used in other States.