Sextant

The simple qgeneric uery service is a service provided by Discovery, designed to enable rapid and frequent extracts of large data sets from the Discovery Data Service, where the definition of those data sets conform to a simple pattern.

The query service is a semi automated process involving the  extract of a set of files or tables from the data service, that cover the source data requirements of a subscriber to the Discovery Data service. Files or tables may be aggregate counts or line (event level) entries derived from health records.

The content of the extracts are governed by the Discovery data processing agreements (DPA) , the Discovery data sharing agreements (DSA) and the Discovery project definitions (DPC). 

The generic query service is not suitable for advanced analytical rule based data sets, but instead provides either simple outputs, or extensive data sets that can then be subsequently analysed in depth. 

The service is initiated by a data access agreement, accompanied  by a data set definition as provided by a subscriber, with the data set definition being constrained to the generic query service's simple query parameters. In other words, the service is used when the parameters of a data set definition are in a simple form.

Simple data set definition

The configuration parameters of a simple data set definition fall into two parts:

Input parameters, which include the defining of a cohort, criteria which include the selection of simple broad types of data from the Discovery common information model, and the filtering of data entries by single attribute value sets. 

Output parameters, which include whether the output is event level (e.g. 1 line per event and 1 line per patient), or aggregate, where the aggregation is by one common attribute type such as organisational grouping, characteristice grouping, or date time grouping.

Cohort definition

The simple generic query service supports simple definitions of cohorts of patients. The following configuration options are supported i.e. one or more of the following:

Provider organisations List of organisations, or list of organisations groups, whose records will be used as the base cohort. An example may be all GP practices in London, or a list of a small number of practices in Tower hamlets

Patient GP registration Whether the cohort is limited to currently registered patients (if the organisations are practices), or whether the cohort may include patients who have left or died.

One Value set Patients that have entries that are record concepts that are part of a single observation value ser,  or medication value set. i.e. one set of concepts, iether built as a "set of sets" or a single set

One demographic, One age ranges or genders, high level post code list

Input criteria

Input criteria include a list of high level types of entities from the information model and one type of filter applied to each. The following table illustrates:

Property	Description
Entity identifier	The idenfifier of the entity in question providing sufficient information to determine the type and location
Attributes	A set of attribute value pairs that provide meta data about the entity, specific usually to the type of entity.  These are modelled in the information model

 

Observations

Medication orders or issues. Records ofmedications prescribed or ordered