Visits to physicians by Asian/Pacific Americans

The purpose of this paper is to disseminate some of the findings from the 1979 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) where, for the first time in its history, data are available on the characteristics of visits to office-based physicians by Asian/Pacific Americans. The NAMCS Program is the only source for such data which is based on a national probability sample survey of physician-patient encounters. Among the findings are: 1) no significant difference was observed between Asian/Pacific Islanders and the white majority with regard to the patient's sex, return-visit ratio, or the kinds of diagnostic and therapeutic services rendered by the sampled physicians. 2) Children appear to be the major utilizers of ambulatory medical care among Asian/Pacific Americans. 3) In every age group, the visit rate to office-based physicians is lower for Asian/Pacific Americans when compared with white Americans. 4) A significantly smaller percentage of Asians or Pacific Islanders, in contrast to other specified race/ethnic groups, had visited a physician for injury or poisoning, and a substantial proportion of their visits were apparently made for preventive care. 5) Significantly fewer visits were made by Asian/Pacific Americans to the office of a surgeon or a psychiatrist. The demographic antecedents and cultural underpinnings of these findings are discussed.