Barwon Health builds metadata registry
Hospital and healthcare provider to Geelong and south western Victoria, Barwon Health, has deployed a metadata registry and information asset register based on the aka software platform from Australia’s Synercon Group. This followed a successful proof of concept in early 2015.
The Barwon Health metadata registry (or data dictionary) delivers a critical component of a new a business intelligence platform known as HEART (HealthCare Excellence Analytics and Research Tool). The HEART project was set up to establish a standardised reporting environment providing a single source of truth.
Metadata values are drawn from METeOR – an online Metadata registry managed and published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) augmented with Barwon Health metadata.
Using the a.k.a. Designer tool the a.k.a. team configured a metadata model that replicated the entities and relationships represented in METeOR.
METeOR Extraction APP
The team built an Extraction APP which enabled the Barwon team to read the METeOR database, flag and store metadata items and extract the metadata items into CSV files. The items are then loaded and managed within the a.k.a. library.
The data design enables a governed approach to metadata management improving the consistency of information collection and supporting the maintenance and use of information over time. The design clearly indicates who is responsible for the definition of the data and the source of the information, and provides an audit trail to manage changes over time.
The a.k.a. team also built a set of XSL templates enabling the publication of the datasets for browser based viewing.
The Interactive report format means that users can slice and dice the database to extract exactly the information they need.
The latest release of a.k.a software has recently been released. Version 3.5 offers additional functionality including operation in the cloud.
The a.k.a. cloud installation uses the Microsoft Remote APP and Desktop Connection as the platform, SQL server as the database engine and Active Directory for creating user accounts. A trial version is available.