Method and system for information workflows

• US 8,903,760 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2004
• Issued: 12/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: DeVries, James R., Hussain, Saleem, Rath, Cale T., Sakhitab, Saeid
• Primary Examiner(s): KUDDUS, DANIEL A
• Application Number:
  US10/988,248
• Publication Number:
  US 20060117238A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,672 Days
• US Class Current: 707/602
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records

Abstract

A method and apparatus for information repository workflows enables the transfer of information between healthcare sites and medical research facilities. Large quantities of medical information may be directly transferred to an information repository or indirectly transferred to the repository through the use of pointers. The information is cleansed and normalized prior to storage in a production database within the repository. The cleansing process is conducted while ensuring integrity of the production database is maintained and while continuing to receive additional information transfers. Errors encountered during processing are logged and reported.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for using a machine to transfer information between a first domain and a production database within a second domain, comprising:

receiving, from a medical information broker system (MIB), a message including either a link to a location storing information from the first domain or a payload storing the information, wherein the information is specified in different formats, and wherein the message includes the link to the location storing the information when the stored information exceeds a threshold size; and

in response to receiving the message;

placing the message in an input queue,

upon determining the message includes the link;

streaming the information from the location, and

storing the streamed information in a datastore within the second domain,

upon determining the message includes the payload, storing the information from the payload in the datastore within the second domain,

parsing the information by a machine to produce converted information represented in a single database format prior to or while transferring the information from the datastore into a staging database within the second domain, and

upon determining that a ruleset requires cleansing of the converted information, identifying any ambiguities or errors in the converted information prior to or while propagating the converted information from the staging database into the production database within the second domain.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, reporting an error generated during the receiving of the message.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising, reporting an error generated during the identifying.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising, reporting an error generated during the parsing.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

locking access to the staging database to prevent any modification of the staging database prior to the identifying; and

unlocking access to the staging database to allow modification of the staging database following the identifying.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying is initiated based on a trigger.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the information includes an anonymous global patient identifier.

8. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium containing a program for processing medical information which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform an operation, comprising:

determining whether a payload message including the medical information is included within a healthcare collaborative network (HCN) message or a pointer to a location where the payload message is stored is included within the HCN message, and wherein the HCN message includes the pointer to the location storing the information when the payload message exceeds a threshold size, wherein the payload message is stored in an input queue;

upon determining HCN message includes the pointer;

retrieving the payload message from the location identified within the HCN message; and

storing the retrieved information in a datastore;

upon determining the HCN message includes the payload message, storing the information in the payload message in the datastore;

parsing the payload message to produce a converted payload message represented in a standard database format;

streaming the converted payload message from the datastore into a staging database; and

upon determining that a ruleset requires cleansing of the converted information, identifying any ambiguities or errors in the converted payload message prior to or while propagating the converted payload message from the staging database to a production database.

9. The computer readable medium of claim 8, further comprising reporting errors generated during the retrieving of the payload message, the parsing of the payload message, and the identifying of any ambiguities or errors in the converted payload message.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 8, further comprising locking the staging database during the propagating of the converted payload message.

11. A computer implemented system including a machine for processing and storing information, comprising:

an input unit configured to receive messages which include either a pointer to a location within a secure server where information is stored or a payload storing the information, wherein the information is specified in different formats, wherein the received messages include the link to the location within the secure server when a size of the information exceeds a threshold size, wherein the input unit stores payload messages in an input queue;

a retrieval unit configured to retrieve the information corresponding to the received message from either the location within the secure server or from the payload and to stream the information to the datastore;

a machine configured to, in response to receiving one of the message, parse the information to produce converted information represented in a single database format while streaming the information from the datastore to a staging database; and

a cleansing unit configured to propagate the converted information from the staging database to a production database, wherein the cleansing unit identifies any ambiguities or errors in the converted information upon determining that a ruleset requires cleansing of the converted information.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the cleansing unit is configured to generate an error when a portion of the information does not conform to a rule specified by the ruleset.

13. The system of claim 11, further comprising an information repository core configured to interface between the input unit and the machine and configured to interface between the machine and the cleansing unit.

14. The system of claim 11, further comprising an error reporting unit configured to receive errors generated by the input unit, the cleansing unit, or the machine.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein a core unit is configured to lock the machine while the cleansing unit cleanses the converted information and propagates the converted information to the production database.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the cleansing unit initiates the cleansing of the converted information based on a trigger.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the information includes an anonymous global patient identifier.

18. A computer implemented method for using a machine to transfer data between a remote site and a production database within a central processing facility, comprising:

receiving, from a medical information broker system (MIB), a message generated by the remote site that includes either a pointer to a location where data specified in different formats is stored or a payload storing data specified in different formats, and wherein the message includes the pointer to the location where the data is stored when a size of the data exceeds a threshold size; and

in response to receiving the message;

placing the message in an input queue;

upon determining the message includes the pointer, retrieving the data from the location,

upon determining the message includes the payload, retrieving the data from the received message,

storing the data in a datastore within the central processing facility,

parsing the data by a machine to produce converted data represented in a standard relational database format,

streaming the converted data from the datastore into a staging database within the central processing facility; and

upon determining that a ruleset requires cleansing of the converted information, identifying any ambiguities or errors in the converted payload message prior to or while propagating the converted payload message from the staging database to a production database.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the identifying is initiated based on a trigger.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising, reporting an error generated during the retrieving of the data.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising, reporting an error generated during the parsing.

22. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

locking access to the staging database to prevent any modification of the staging database prior to the identifying; and

unlocking access to the staging database to allow modification of the staging database following the identifying.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the information includes an anonymous global patient identifier.