Chapter 10: Database Management

Database design

A description of the logical and physical characteristics of an operational database

Limited data set

A form of data in which direct patient identifiers have been removed, but other data such as city, state, zip code, dates of service, birth, or death remain

Accredited Standards Committee X12 (ASC X12)

ANSI-accredited SDO that develops specifications for communication among software applications

Health Level Seven (HL7)

ANSI-accredited SDO that develops specifications that allow different health care software applications within an organization to communicate with one another

Minimum data set

An agreed-upon and accepted set of terms and uniform definitions that constitute a core of data

National Health Info Infrastructure (NHII)

Attempts to create a knowledge-based system capable of delivering info to consumers, patients, and health care professionals when and where they need it to make informed health care decisions

Data dictionary

Contains the standardized definitions of each data element in a database

Secondary databases

Data contained within these databases come from primary sources, such as patient's health record

Database design specification

Defines and describes where the data created, retrieved, updated, or deleted by a software application resides both logically and physically, and specifies the format the data possesses

Clinical data respository

Electronic storage of data and information from individual patient health records

Object query language (OQL)

Extension of SQL that can be used with object-oriented databases

Interface

Hardware or software necessary to connect the components of an information system together or to connect one info system to another

Clean data

Inaccurate, incomplete, or irrelevant data have been corrected, modified, or deleted before the data set is ready for use

Information

Knowledge that results from the processing of data

Structured query language (SQL)

Language used by non programmers to retrieve info contained in relational databases

Data warehouses

Large databases that store both historical and current info from a variety of sources and are optimized for fast query answering

Data set

List of recommended data elements with uniform definitions that provides structure and context for a given purpose

Online analytical processing (OLAP)

Manipulation of information to create business intelligence in support of strategic decision making

Graphical user interface (GUI)

Method of displaying text and graphics on a computer screen

Electronic data interchange (EDI)

Method of electronic mail messaging that is conveyed among computers without manual intervention

ORYX Initiative

Minimum data set applicable to the accreditation process

Regional health info organization (RHIO)

Network of individuals, businesses, groups, and associations working to establish the means to share patient info in an electronic fashion within a region or a community with the goal of improving health care in a community

Data mapping

Process of linking terminology between two different schemes for a given purpose

Data

Raw facts and figures

Data model

Representation of exactly what a database should exemplify to the end user, specifying the structures to be used, the operations that will validate and manipulate structures, what type of records will be held, what fields each will contain, and the types of relationships among the various data items stored in the database

Info system

Set of connecting and communicating computers, devices, and software that support the delivery of patient care and the day to day business of health care

Data element

Single fact or measurement

Database

Structured storage or collection of data on multiple entities and their relationships, often arranged for ease and speed of retrieval

Data mart

Subset of a data warehouse and restricted to a single business process/function or a group of related business processes/functions targeted toward a particular business group

Concurrency control

The ability of a database to resolve a conflict between 2 simultaneous uses of the same portion of the same database

Interoperability

The ability of software and hardware on machines belonging to different vendors to communicate with one another, thus facilitating data exchange

Integrity control

The ability of the database management system to check all entered data against specified constraints or rules and to determine whether there is an inconsistency

Database management

The ability to manage a database to create, modify, delete and view given data as necessary

Health info exchange (HIE)

The act of sharing RHIO according to nationally recognized standards

Access control

The level of permission granted to a particular user

Traceability

The mechanism employed to track computer data elements, records, and files back to their antecedent user requirements

Data mining

The process of finding unknown dependencies in large data sets using automated means

Data standards

Uniform uses of common terms and methods for sharing data