This public use data file is one in a series of event-level public use data files drawn from the 2008 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Household Component (HC). Released as an ASCII file with SAS, SPSS, and STATA programming statements and in SAS transport format, the Medical Provider Visits File provides detailed information on office-based medical provider visits. Data are gathered from a nationally representative sample of the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the United States and can be used to make estimates of office-based medical provider utilization and expenditures for calendar year 2008. Each record represents one household-reported office-based medical provider visit reported during the 2008 portion of round 3 and rounds 4 and 5 for Panel 12, as well as rounds 1, 2, and the 2008 portion of round 3 for Panel 13 of the survey (i.e., the rounds for the MEPS panels covering calendar year 2008). The Office-Based Provider Public Use Data File contains characteristics associated with the office-based visit, such as, date of the visit, time spent with the provider, types of treatment and services received, types of medicine prescribed, condition codes, expenditures, source of payment associated with the visit and imputed expenditure variables. Update Notes
The documentation for H118G, 2008 Office Based Visits File, has been updated to reflect that OBDATEDD, day of visit, is no longer removed from the 2007 Office Based Visits File.
Update #3: 11/08/13
STATA Programming Statements have been added.
Update #1: 11/15/10
The following files have been updated as of November 15, 2010:
HC-118B 2008 Dental Visits File
HC-118G 2008 Office-Based Medical Provider Visits File
For each file the day of the event has been added: DVDATEDD and OBDATEDD, respectively.
*The PDF version of the codebook is recommended for printing; the HTML version is database driven and lets you navigate quickly to details on each variable.
**Right-click on the data file link, then select Save Target As or Save Link As to download the file.