3.3 Groups File

The Groups file is optional. This file must be specified if tables or figures are requested in a descriptive (L1) analysis (using the Table File and/or Figure File). This file defines the cohort or analysis groups to include in the report and their order. Table 3.5 contains detailed specifications for this file.

Table 3.5: GROUPSFILE specification

Parameter	Field Name	Description
GROUP/ANALYSISGRP to include in report	GROUP	Name of each cohort or analysis to include in report.
		Note 1: GROUP must correspond to values of COHORTGRP/ANALYSISGRP/MILGRP_eoi/MILGRP_ref included in distributed input files.
		Note 2: for Type 6 (Manufacturer-Level Product Utilization and Switching Pattern) reports, include COHORTGRP values if requesting medical product utilization tables and/or ANALYSISGRP values if requesting switching tables.
		Note 3: all GROUP values must be unique from all other GROUP and ANALYSISGRP values. The same GROUP cannot be used in more than one run of the query request package.
		Format: SAS character $40; no special characters (e.g., commas, periods, hyphens, spaces, etc.) allowed, and underscores must be used to mark spaces.
		Example: insulin
Group Display Order	ORDER	Unique number for each group. This is used to determine the order of groups in the report. All groups should receive a unique ORDER value. ORDER values should start at 1 and be contiguous.
		Format: Numeric
		Example: 1
RunID Corresponding to GROUP	RUNID	RunID assigned to the run that corresponds to the group name listed in GROUP.
		Format: SAS character $5
		Example: r01
Distribution of Exposure or Outcome Codes	CODEDIST	Identifier for whether to report distribution of index-defining codes, outcome-defining codes, or both for specified GROUP (if requesting code distribution results).
		Valid values are: EXP: exposure HOI: health outcome of interest EXP HOI: exposure and health outcome of interest
		Note 1: leave blank if DISTINDEX = N or if code distribution output is not requested.
		Note 2: If CODEDIST is specified then a Code Description file must be included.
		Note 3: for Type 4, the distribution of HOI defining codes is not available. The only valid value is EXP and should only be specified for COHORTGRPs.
		Format: SAS character $7
		Example: EXP
Limit of Code Combinations to Output	TOPNCODEDIST	Option to restrict code distribution results to the top N most frequent code combinations, where N is the number of results desired.
		Note 1: if CODEDIST is blank, then TOPNCODEDIST should be left blank.
		Note 2: if CODEDIST is specified and TOPNCODEDIST is left blank, the code distribution results will be restricted to all combinations that contain the 25 most frequent unique codes.
		Note 3: for Type 4, the distribution of HOI defining codes is not available. The only valid value is EXP and should only be specified for COHORTGRPs.
		Format: Numeric
		Example: 10
Include in Figure	INCLUDEINFIGURE	Option to specify whether GROUP should be included in L1 figure(s).
		Valid values are: Y: Include in figure N: Do not include in figure
		Note 1: Not applicable for Type 4.
		Format: SAS character $1
		Example: Y
Include Negative Time	INCLUDENEGATIVETIME	Option to specify whether to include negative time to switch, negative product uptake, and negative duration in Type 6 tables and figures.
		Valid values are: Y: Include negative time N: Do not include negative time
		Note 1: Only applicable for Type 6.
		Format: SAS character $1
		Example: Y