Inclusion & Exclusion Criteria

After naming your cohort, you will navigate to the Cohort Builder page where you can define your patient population using Inclusion and Exclusion criteria. This page is the core workspace for building targeted patient cohorts based on specific characteristics and conditions.

Inclusion and Exclusion criteria interface showing both sections

Purpose

The Inclusion and Exclusion criteria system allows you to precisely define which patients should be part of your cohort analysis:

Inclusion Criteria: Define the conditions patients MUST meet to be included in your cohort
Exclusion Criteria: Define the conditions that will REMOVE patients from your cohort, even if they meet inclusion criteria

Steps to Define Criteria

Navigate to Cohort Builder: After entering your cohort name and saving, you will be directed to this page
Add Inclusion Criteria First: You must add at least one inclusion criterion before the exclusion section becomes enabled
Select Criteria Type: Click "+ Add criteria" and choose from the available criteria types based on your needs
Configure Values: Set operators and values for each criterion, including data source selection
Add Exclusion Criteria (Optional): After inclusion criteria are added, you can add exclusion criteria to refine your cohort
Build & Save: Click the Build button to generate results, then click Save

Understanding the Interface

Inclusion Criteria Section (Green Border)

The Inclusion Criteria section is marked with a green border, indicating its positive nature. Patients must meet these conditions to be included in your cohort.

Exclusion Criteria Section (Red Border)

The Exclusion Criteria section is marked with a red border, indicating its exclusionary nature. Patients meeting these conditions will be removed from your cohort.

Available Criteria Types

You can select from various criteria types based on your analysis needs:

Patient Demographics

Filter patients based on personal and geographic characteristics:

Patient: General patient information and identifiers
Gender: Filter by gender (Male, Female, Unknown)
Age: Filter by age ranges or specific values
Death: Include or exclude deceased patients
Race: Filter by race/ethnicity
State: Filter by U.S. state location
Zip3: Filter by first 3 digits of ZIP code
Segmentation: Patient segmentation categories
Patient History: Historical patient data and events
Import Cohort Block: Import criteria from existing cohorts

Diagnosis Codes

Filter patients based on diagnosis codes:

ICD-CM: ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes with full functionality
ICD-CM Simple: Simplified code selection for quick entry
ICD-CM Hierarchy: Codes organized by category and subcategory

Procedure Codes

Filter patients based on medical procedures:

ICD-PCS: ICD-10-PCS procedure codes for inpatient procedures
CPT-4: Current Procedural Terminology codes
CPT-4 Simple: Simplified CPT-4 selection
HCPCS: Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System

Drugs/Medications

Filter patients based on medications:

NDC: National Drug Code for specific medications
ATC Classes: Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification

Laboratory

Filter patients based on lab test results:

Result Name & Unit: Lab results by test name and measurement unit
LOINC: Standardized lab test identification codes

Clinical Notes

Filter patients based on EMR documentation:

Notes: Search for keywords or patterns in clinical notes
Notes Cohort: Cohort-based notes filtering

How It Works

Step 1: Patients are first filtered based on Inclusion Criteria
Step 2: From the included patients, those meeting Exclusion Criteria are removed
Step 3: The final cohort contains only patients who meet inclusion criteria AND do not meet any exclusion criteria

Logical Operators

You can combine multiple criteria using logical operators:

AND: All criteria must be met
OR: At least one criterion must be met
Groups: Use "+ Add group" to create complex logical combinations

Best Practices

Always start with inclusion criteria before adding exclusions
Use specific codes and values for accurate results
Review patient counts after each criterion to verify expected results
Test with small date ranges before running full analysis
Document your criteria logic for future reference

For more details, click on the cards below: