[MEDITECH-L] MEDITECH DR vs. Shams Data Warehouse
HEIM, NICOLE
We are MEDITECH magic 5.62.
We are currently doing this comparison between MEDITECH's DR and Sham's Data Warehouse. Does anyone have any input good/bad that they would like to share?
We would like to be able to house data from non-MEDITECH in the same repository. I was under the impression you can do this with MEDITECH's DR, but now I am unsure.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Nicole A. Heim
Manager, Applications
Information Systems
Milford Regional Medical Center
phone: 508-422-2971
cell: 508-614-0782
fax: 508-634-3764
email: nh...@milreg.org
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Doug Hiteshew
I haven't seen any posted responses to your inquiry. Hopefully you received some private responses.
At one time Meditech's DR was but a small subset of the data that was available in the MAGIC or C/S system. Over the past 5 years or so, Meditech has greatly improved this and now, if there is some data that is not downloaded, it is incredibly less than what it was historically.
The SHAMS folks' claim has always been that their DR contained all of the available Meditech data.
Non-Meditech data can reside on the same server as the Meditech DR, but it should be in another database so one set of data does not interfere with the other, and a Meditech update won't affect the non-Meditech data and vice-versa.
You will definitely need to obtain a "front-end" for the Meditech data repository in order for non-IT/non-techie users to be able to pull their own data from the DR. Medisolv, AcmeWare, Dimensions Analysis, IPeople are companies that come to mind as resources for this.
SHAMS has always advertised having this front-end software.
If your facility has the time (lots of it) and the expertise, you can make your own front end and reports using the "free" tools included with SQL 2005 such as Reporting Services and Analysis Services for data cubes.
For the Meditech DR, it is necessary to also purchase "DrAuditor" by BlueElm (the cost used to be very low, but VERY worthwhile).
This software saves you an astronomical amount of work checking whether the data in MAGIC or C/S is in the DR tables. There are holes in the data, don't ask why Meditech can't refine the process to move data from system A to system B. Don't even go there. It is an existential question. The process is phenomenally better than it was historically, but there are still minor problems, and, since I am afflicted with OCD, I HAVE TO HAVE 100% OF MY DATA.
SHAMS, at least used to, claim that their system did not need to be verified. I like Ronald Reagan's old adage: "Trust, but verify".
Writing NPR reports comparing data in your Meditech system with the data in your SQL tables is not even possible anymore. There is simply too much data, and no one has THAT much spare time to compare the two sets of information even after you have made it available. The DrAuditor is set up to run an audit, and then you go on to another task and return to the DrAuditor in a few hours or the next morning to view the results.
Evaluate Purchase Price versus Receivables versus What You Really Need:
Meditech DR module + DrAuditor + FrontEnd software + required hardware + annual support cost= ??
SHAMS DR software + SHAMS FrontEnd software + Auditing software + required hardware + annual support cost= ??
That's my advice. HTH
Doug
Doug Hiteshew, MT(ASCP)
Senior Systems Analyst
Johnson Memorial Hospital
Franklin, IN 46131
V: 317-736-3397
C: 317-409.0108
F: 317-346-3011
E: dhit...@johnsonmemorial.org
-----Original Message-----
From: meditech-...@mtusers.com [mailto:meditech-...@mtusers.com] On Behalf Of HEIM, NICOLE
Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 10:35 AM
To: medit...@mtusers.com
Subject: [MEDITECH-L] MEDITECH DR vs. Shams Data Warehouse
Hi all,
We are MEDITECH magic 5.62.
We are currently doing this comparison between MEDITECH's DR and Sham's Data Warehouse. Does anyone have any input good/bad that they would like to share?
We would like to be able to house data from non-MEDITECH in the same repository. I was under the impression you can do this with MEDITECH's DR, but now I am unsure.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Nicole A. Heim
Manager, Applications
Information Systems
Milford Regional Medical Center
phone: 508-422-2971
cell: 508-614-0782
fax: 508-634-3764
email: nh...@milreg.org
P Think of the environment please before you print this email
Garry McAninch
I can't speak about the Shams DR as I haven't had any any exposure with it
since 1997.
As far as non-MEDITECH data is concerned, there is no problem linking
external system data with MEDITECH data PROVIDED that you consider the
following:
In my experience, you should keep the non-MEDITECH data in a separate
database and not in MEDITECH's DR Databases (livedb and testdb).
It's good practice to keep MEDITECH tables ONLY MEDITECH. This keeps the DR
from being contaminated by other tables and you're not running the risk of
interfering with the normal operation of the DR. The last thing you want is
to have MEDITECH finger pointing any DR problems on extraneous tables
sitting in the DR.
SQL Server allows multiple database to exist on the same server. This means
you can create an 'externaldb' database on your MEDITECH Data Repository
server and place data from your other systems into it. SQL also allows
cross-querying of tables from both the MEDITECH DR and the external database
as if it was all together in the same database. An example is taking
Patient Abstracting demographic information from the DR and linking it with
a Picis OR Manager Case Record in order to provide a comprehensive Surgical
Patient Record for surgical reporting.
Keep in mind, if you decide to take this route, you need to have enough disk
space and server horsepower to house the external data along with the
MEDITECH recommended growth expectations on this server.
A second approach could be a second SQL Server and build a Database with
combined selective data from both the DR and the external system. This
would allow for staged datasets for easier reporting and table linking. A
drawback (if you wish to call it that) using this format is building
comprehensive ETL routines from both data sources (DR & external) to
populate the tables in the second server. Advantages to this design would
be that querying doesn't impact the Data Repository except for after hours
ETL updates. This helps to make sure the DR is maintaining its efficiency
while the second server is totally dedicated to integrated reporting without
continuous updates to the tables.
These are two options available worth considering. One advantage (or as
some might consider a disadvantage) is that SQL Server allows for multiple
opportunities to build on your SQL data. It all depends on what it is you
have, what you want to do and what you want to provide to your users.
To reiterate.. You can add external data to the DR server.. I don't
recommend adding the tables to the MEDITECH-built databases.
I hope this helps. If I can be of any help, please let me know.
Good luck!
gmc
Garry McAninch
Principal
Dimension Analysis
Phone : 905-704-1356
Mobile : 905-941-1356
Fax : 905-688-2256
Email : gmca...@dimensionsanalysis.com
Web : www.dimensionsanalysis.com
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> From: "HEIM, NICOLE" <NH...@milreg.org>
> Date: Thu, 8 Oct 2009 10:35:02 -0400
> To: <medit...@mtusers.com>
> Subject: [MEDITECH-L] MEDITECH DR vs. Shams Data Warehouse
>