EPO Bill File

This is a quarterly file ( June through December for 1989) containing bills submitted for EPO therapy. Each bill within a file is a record of an individual patient's EPO consumption during a specific period of time, defined by the beginning date of service (FROMDATE) and ending date of service (THRUDATE). Each file may contain multiple records for a single patient. Each record includes, among other information, the: (1) number of EPO administrations during the period of service (FROMDATE to THRUDATE); (2) last EPO dose during the period; (3) average EPO dose during the period; (4) last hematocrit recorded during the period; and, (5) total EPO charges during the period.

 

Source: HCFA

Size: Approximately 200-400K records in unaggregated files per quarter; see numbered tape inventory list for sizes of specific files

Years: 1989 (June through December), 1990-1996(quarterly)

Media: Originals: IBM 3480; Working Copies: 9-track tape Working: DAT

Format: Original: EBCDIC(some ASCII) Fixed Length; Working: ASCII Fixed Length

RecordLength: 154 - 160; see numbered tape inventory list for specific files

Structure: 1 record per patient per period (FROMDATE-THRUDATE)

Complexity: Simple; can be read directly from SAS/SPSS.

Restrictions: Use restricted by HCFA data agreements. Prior written approval required for each project.