Allscripts Analytics - User - Guide PDF
Allscripts Analytics - User - Guide PDF
Company Confidential
Copyright © 2010 Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc. www.allscripts.com
Analytics User Guide (KB Article # 3499)
This document is the confidential property of Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc. It is furnished under an
agreement with Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc. or one of its subsidiaries and may only be used in
accordance with the terms of that agreement. The use of this document is restricted to customers of Allscripts-
Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc. and their employees. The user of this document agrees to protect the
Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc. proprietary rights as expressed herein. The user further agrees not
to permit access to this document by any person for any purpose other than as an aid in the use of the associ-
ated system. In no case will this document be examined for the purpose of copying any portion of the system
described herein or to design another system to accomplish similar results. This document or portions of it may
not be copied without written permission from Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc. The information in this
document is subject to change without notice. The names and associated patient data used in this document,
demo, or training program are fictional and do not represent any real person living or otherwise. Any similari-
ties to actual people are coincidental.
TouchWorks™, TouchWorks Charge™, TouchWorks Document™, TouchWorks Dictate™, TouchWorks
Note™, TouchWorks Order™, TouchWorks PM™, TouchWorks Result™, TouchWorks Rx+™, TouchWorks
Scan™, TouchWorks Transcribe™, Physician Homebase™, TouchWorks Workflow™, TouchWorks Pocket
Library™, Snapshot™, Problem™, Allscripts Enterprise EHR™, Allscripts Enterprise EHR Charge™, Allscripts
Enterprise EHR Document™, Allscripts Enterprise EHR Dictate™, Allscripts Enterprise EHR Note™, Allscripts
Enterprise EHR Order™, Allscripts Enterprise EHR PM™, Allscripts Enterprise EHR Result™, Allscripts Enter-
prise EHR Rx+™, Allscripts Enterprise EHR Scan™, Allscripts Enterprise EHR Transcribe™, Allscripts Enter-
prise EHR Physician Homebase™, Allscripts Enterprise EHR Workflow™, Allscripts Enterprise EHR Pocket
Library™, Allscripts Enterprise EHR Snapshot™, Allscripts Enterprise EHR Problem™ and Just Right, Just-in-
Time Information® are registered and/or trademarks of Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc. All other
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CPT copyright 2007 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
Fee schedules, relative value units, conversion factors and/or related components are not assigned by the
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tained herein.
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Health Organization (WHO).
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Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
Analytics Guide v4.1.1011
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................................ 1
WHO SHOULD USE THIS DOCUMENT? ........................................................................................................................................ 2
Workflows and Walkthroughs ................................................................................................................................................ 2
APPLICATION VENDOR................................................................................................................................................................ 2
EXTRACT-TRANSFORM-LOAD..................................................................................................................................................... 2
SESSION 1: ANALYTICS OBJECTS ....................................................................................................................................... 3
LESSON 1: GETTING DOWN TO BASICS ............................................................................................................................ 3
LOADING ANALYTICS ................................................................................................................................................................. 3
SELECTION TAB .......................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Ad Hoc.................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Administration........................................................................................................................................................................ 5
Common Object Menu Bar Options ....................................................................................................................................... 7
COMMON TOOLBAR OPTIONS ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
METALAYER TREE ...................................................................................................................................................................... 8
LESSON 2: BASIC SEARCH OPTIONS .................................................................................................................................. 4
OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................................................................................. 4
STANDARD SEARCH FUNCTIONS ................................................................................................................................................. 6
Clear Search........................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Quick Search .......................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Keyword Search ................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Add Data Field to Search..................................................................................................................................................... 12
Distinct Values ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16
Modify Search ...................................................................................................................................................................... 18
Save Search .......................................................................................................................................................................... 21
Granting Access to User Groups.......................................................................................................................................... 22
Adding/Updating Criteria WITHOUT Saving...................................................................................................................... 23
LESSON 3: WORKSHEETS .................................................................................................................................................... 24
OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................................................................ 24
Adding Fields to the Worksheet............................................................................................................................................ 24
Removing Fields from a Worksheet...................................................................................................................................... 26
Changing Selected Data Fields Order ................................................................................................................................. 26
Running/Loading Worksheets............................................................................................................................................... 27
Distinct Rows ....................................................................................................................................................................... 29
MANAGING WORKSHEETS ........................................................................................................................................................ 31
Sorting Records.................................................................................................................................................................... 31
Toggle................................................................................................................................................................................... 31
Filter Records....................................................................................................................................................................... 32
Splitting a Worksheet Screen................................................................................................................................................ 33
Find Records ........................................................................................................................................................................ 34
Export................................................................................................................................................................................... 34
Saving Worksheets................................................................................................................................................................ 35
Link Saved Search to a Worksheet ....................................................................................................................................... 36
LESSON 4: ADVANCED SEARCH OPTIONS ..................................................................................................................... 38
MULTI-SEARCH ........................................................................................................................................................................ 38
AND vs. OR Using Multi-Search.......................................................................................................................................... 41
NESTED SEARCHES ................................................................................................................................................................... 46
Introduction
Going well beyond standard reports and clinical analysis is the advanced clinical analysis offered by the Enterprise
EHR Analytics application – a fully graphical and relational query engine.
Enterprise EHR Analytics offers the flexibility to easily view and sort from thousands of data elements. This is
particularly useful for today’s complex medical practices. Organizations now have the ability to select, view and
display data for a number of clinical scenarios.
A powerful part of Enterprise EHRs Analytics is the ability to display the information in a variety of formats. These
include:
• Flexible report writer to create presentation quality reports
• Easy to read color-coded dashboard summaries based on user-defined ranges
• Pivot tables for an aggregate view of the clinical information
• Drill-through views displaying detailed data in a spreadsheet format
• Graphical capabilities to show a visual representation of the information
• Ad-Hoc Query to build sophisticated reporting with simple point-and-click tools
• Export capabilities to HTML, PDF, Excel, and Rich Text formats
With the proper analytical tools, organizations can drive clinical excellence by managing pay-for-performance
initiatives, measuring key performance indicators, supporting clinical trials, and providing patient population
management. Accessing the clinical data in a format designed for near real-time decision making can transform
the art and science of delivering healthcare. The Enterprise EHR Analytics toolset will enable organizations to turn
the data in the Enterprise EHR system into information that can significantly change business operations.
The Analytics Guide is designed to be a tool for learning and training Enterprise EHR Analytics. It is split into 2
sessions: Analytics Objects and Administration respectively. Front-end functionality and workflows are detailed in
the 1st session while application set-up is broken down in the 2nd session. Any user of Enterprise EHR Analytics
can utilize this document to help in the creation of various objects and analyze pertinent data.
There are several areas of the document that detail functionality through the use of walkthrough examples. These
are intended to help a user understand how the product works while detailing the step-by-step instructions in a
simple, clinically relevant workflow. Organizations can feel free to substitute their own examples when walking
through the documentation to make it more relevant to specialties, user workflows, etc.
Application Vendor
Enterprise EHR Analytics utilizes the Precision.BI product developed by Datamasters, Inc. Datamasters, Inc. is a
software development company dedicated to providing the healthcare industry with system and service solutions
incorporating high intrinsic value at reasonable costs. Allscripts has partnered with Datamasters to deliver a
product for analyzing and reporting vital clinical information for Enterprise EHR users.
Extract-Transform-Load
One of the many benefits delivered with the Enterprise EHR Analytics product is that data resides on a separate
database and server than the live Enterprise EHR database. Hence, there are no restrictions on when queries,
reports and analysis can be run against the database due to concerns over possibly compromising the performance
of the live system.
In order to move data from one server/database to another, Microsoft’s SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) is
utilized to streamline the data tables in order to provide a simple database structure via a bulk copy process:
Extract-Transform-Load. There are several database tables that may exist per Enterprise EHR module. As the
data is being transferred and loaded into the Analytics database structure, indexes are dropped on the Enterprise
EHR side and re-created in a more streamlined format in order to speed up the data transfer. For more
information, search for Integration Services at Microsoft.com.
Analytics implementation teams will guide organizations through this process including how often the Analytics
database will be updated with Enterprise EHR data. This is not a real-time update, but rather a near real-time
update based on organization needs. For example, an organization may decide to have data loaded nightly,
weekly, etc.
Loading Analytics
1. Double-click the Analytics icon on the You can also load from the START
desktop. menu.
Select Programs
Select Precision.BI
Select the Precision.BI application
2. Verify the Server and Database fields. A Period “.“ is used for the Server if the
user is currently attempting to access the
application directly from the server.
Click the X button in the upper right corner to close the application.
Selection Tab
Analytics menu options are divided between two main tabs – Ad Hoc & Administration. Administrators may limit
what items are available to a user(s) based on security rights. For more on security access, see Security in this
document under Session 2: Administration.
Ad Hoc
The Ad Hoc section displays all object options a user has been given to access.
Administration
The Administration tab is designed for “super” users to control access of several application functions.
Security – establish control over what users may access within the application
Change Password – update the current user’s password
Reset User Password – update any user’s password
Metalayer Engine – list of all data fields available in the application
Scheduler Administration – set up objects to download when necessary
Object Management – allow administrator to manage all saved objects
User Audit – area for reviewing user activity
Process Management – review system processes
To view different published reports, charts, cross tabs displayed in Analytics, complete the following:
2. View different button options. (Instructor will cover specific ones used in
class.)
Across all Objects within the Ad Hoc tab, there are several, common menu bar options. A user can feel
comfortable knowing that several features learned in one object will accompany the user as they learn other objects
within the Analytics application.
Menu for common features such as opening/closing an object, saving and printing.
Options for sending user to various object areas (Worksheets, Charts, etc.) in application.
Numerous search options available such as clear, edit, save and Quick Search.
Returns the count of rows reflected in the current search and object
Metalayer Tree
The Metalayer Tree is a view that lists all Enterprise EHR-related fields loaded into the Analytics tool. All fields that
the user has access to will appear in the view separated within multiple Content Categories. Examples of Content
Categories:
Patient Findings mTemplate
Problem Patient List Chart
Medication Order Immunization
Result Health Maintenance Plan Allergy
Task Charge Audit
Data field holds only distinct values allowing the user to select data provided to them in a list.
Contact your Analytics Implementation Team for details on what Fields are available via certain
application versions.
3. Expand Identification.
Overview
There may be several items added to an object to make it successfully reflect the initial goal put forth by the user.
An object may be tweaked often to make sure the data is displayed appropriately. There are two main items
necessary for any object to be successful reflecting the user’s goal: data fields and searches.
Data fields are those fields within Enterprise EHR that are to be displayed within the object (patient demographics,
problems, results, etc.). Several examples of data fields will be discussed throughout the remainder of this
document. As important to any successful object is how the records to be display will populate in the object.
Example of questions to think about when including Data Fields:
Should the report display all patients in the database or just those patients with Essential
Hypertension?
Should the worksheet display all patients who have had a Lipid Profile in the past 6 months or just
those who had an LDL returned with an abnormal level?
Searches are used to populate the data fields. For example, if a user adds several data fields to a worksheet
(patient full name, patient age, SSN, city, state, etc.) and wants to yield a list of patients below the age of three, the
user must limit the patient age to less than three. There may be more criteria added to the search in order to
further limit what is returned (i.e. city = Chicago), but the following dialog box will present if the user attempts to run
a query without adding at least one search criterion to that query.
No data objects can be populated without at least one search criterion added to the search!
The next section of this document will chronicle several ways a user may add criteria to a search. As is true with
many other aspects of software, there is no one way to do something within an application. The user can decide
which is a better workflow based on actions and need.
2. Expand Identification.
3. Double-click the following Data Fields: The fields now appear in the middle of the
screen.
Patient-fullname
Patient-age
Patient-dateofbirth
Patient-id
When beginning to populate new search criteria, it is always best to make sure that there are no existing criteria
present. Otherwise, there could be additional unnecessary fields limiting what is returned.
If search criteria are not cleared, it will transfer to other objects as the user navigates throughout the system. For
example, if a user creates a search within the Worksheets object and does not clear the search when leaving the
Worksheets object, the criteria will remain in the search as the user navigates to the Analysis object. However, the
system will prompt the user to save and/or clear the current search as the user leaves an object.
4. Select the View English Query The English Query screen appears, and
there is No Search defined.
button.
Quick Search
Quick Search is an abbreviated way for users to set search criteria. Instead of having to load the Search form
each time a data field is added to a search, Quick Search allows the user to add a criterion directly from the
Metalayer Tree. However, performing a right-click on a data field within the Search form will also give the user the
option of adding criteria via the Quick Search menu. Once the criteria are set, the Search Item Box will appear with
the criteria set.
Within the MetaLayer Tree, conduct a Quick Search by completing the following:
2. Expand Identification.
3. Right-click on patient-age.
7. Right-click on patient-sexname.
10. Click on View English Query You should see the following data:
(patient-age is greater than 55) and
button. (patient-sexname equals male)
11. Select the Run button (or F5). The Worksheet displays with the search
data.
12. Click the Toggle button. This returns you back to the Analytics
Worksheet with MetaLayer Tree.
(Right of the Binoculars button)
Keyword Search
There are several data fields within the Metalayer Tree. Even as a user becomes comfortable with what fields are
available and where most are located, there will be fields the user is not as familiar with or may not have
considered in the past. The Keyword Search feature allows the user to type in a word and have the system display
any data fields containing the characters entered.
For example, if the user enters provider into the Keyword Search, several data fields will be returned due to the fact
that the word provider is present in several data fields within several sections of the Metalayer Tree. The system
will display fields related to primary care provider, ordering provider, billing provider, etc. The Keyword Search is
not limited to certain sections of the Metalayer Tree.
1. Select the Keyword Search button. This is located at the top of the MetaLayer
Tree.
2. Type billing in the Find Field. Once you start typing the search will find
everything starting with the word billing.
3. Double-click on charge-billing status. The dialog box will close and the Metalayer
Tree will open to the section where the field
selected resides.
Utilizing the Add to Search option will navigate the user to the Search form where data fields may be added and
existing data fields may be edited as needed.
4. Right-click on medication-medication
in the MetaLayer Tree.
12. Select the Search dropdown menu. If you want to check to ensure your
search still exists, you can follow the
steps 12 and 13.
15. Click the Run button (or F5). The number of records returned via the
search is limited based on how many
data fields are defining the search.
Click the Red X button at the top of the screen to remove a Search Criteria.
Click the Toggle button at the top of the screen to display the MetaLayer Tree.
Once a field has been added to a search, the field name will be displayed in a Search Item box (block) at the top-
left portion of the screen. Be sure the proper item box is selected (sunken) and begin adding criteria as needed for
the field.
The Is column represents all of the available operators available for defining the data in the query.
= Equals (String Name)
>= Greater Than Or Equal To
<= Less Than Or Equal To
< Less Than
<> Not Equal To
> Greater Than
Like Use wildcard (%) to stress data entered is contained within the search string. Ex. –
Hyper% will bring back all records that start with Hyper. %Hyper% will return records
where the letters H-y-p-e-r reside within the field.
Not Like Use wildcard (%) to stress data entered is NOT contained within the search string.
Between Looking for values that are between 2 values. If the user wanted to return all numbers
between 35-65, Between would be selected and the use would enter 35 and 64 in the
Criteria column.
is Used with the criterion of Null.
is Not Used with the criterion of Null.
And/Or
A user may add several criterions to the same data field within a search if necessary. For example, it may be
necessary to pull back results for two or more order types or view patient information pertaining to more than one
type of problem. From the initial search criteria entered, change the dropdown in the And/Or column to either And
or Or in order for a new line to appear for adding more criteria.
If the user selects And from the dropdown, the query will assume that both lines of criteria MUST be true in order
for records to populate. If the user selects Or from the dropdown, the query will assume that either criterion may be
true for records to be returned from the database.
Distinct Values
There will be several data fields within the Metalayer Tree that will be labeled as distinct valued fields. A distinct
valued field represents a field that contains all unique items. Distinct fields are displayed with the icon to the left
of the data field name.
Distinct values are displayed to aid the user when establishing criteria for a search. For example, a test result is
needed to limit returned records from a query. Many patients may have been administered that test, but the test
name is the same for all participating patients.
Distinct Values
3. Expand Identification.
6. Highlight Male.
Values are displayed in the Distinct Value form if at least one patient has been tied to that item in
the database. It does not mean that all patients have been tied to that item.
For example, a user may navigate to the distinct value form for the field .
There will typically be a “Y” or “N” displayed, but not all patients may have this flag set. If only one
patient in the system has this flag set to “Y” and another patient has the flag set to “N”, then the
fields will populate. Please review how data is populated in Enterprise EHR before assuming
a field is being used for all patients.
Modify Search
Once criteria have been set and the search has been executed, a user may change what criteria is being used to
query the database.
5. Click OK.
Recent Fields
As search criteria is added, the fields being used along with the criteria will display under the Recent Fields tab at
the bottom of the Metalayer Tree.
Expanding each of the data fields displayed in the search criteria will display the specific settings.
To edit the criteria from this screen, double-click the necessary setting (Like 250.%) and make the
appropriate changes before clicking OK. Double-clicking the field name will navigate the user to
the Search screen.
There will be times when certain search criteria will need to be removed. For example, if a search is looking for
Amoxicillin or Zithromax, the user may delete Amoxicillin in order to just search for Zithromax.
If you want to delete an entire block of search criteria from a search object, you can select an
Starting with Analytics 4.1.1011, a user may switch the order of search criteria within the Search screen. The order
of the search field blocks is typically from top to bottom, but there are exceptions such as when using some Nested
search criteria.
If the order of the search criteria needs to be changed, simply click the search object needing to be moved and
drag it over the area it will be placed.
Save Search
As in any other application, Enterprise EHR Analytics will prompt the user to save data throughout the application’s
use whenever data has been created or updated. However, there is an added category feature that allows the user
to decide if the changes are ready to go to a state of production or remain in development. If initially saved in the
category of development for example, the data may be promoted to a state of production or other categories
determined by the administrator. For example, other common categories may be gold or platinum. This gives the
administrator the flexibility to determine what data items may be portrayed as a work in progress. For more
information about managing categories, see Edit Categories within the Object Management section in this
document.
When prompted to save information to the Analytics server, the user must enter a name and category type before
moving forward. However, the description field is optional.
The following example illustrates how to save a Search object. However, the fields detailed are
common when saving any object.
2. Select Yes.
6. Click OK.
You can also save your search from the Analytics Worksheet by selecting the Search dropdown
menu and selecting Save Search.
After saving an object to the database initially, a user can grant access to that object to one or more user groups.
The following dialog box will display after the user clicks Ok.
1. Click Yes.
In most cases if the user clicks NO, the user will not be required to save the changes to the database and will still
have the changes available within the current object. This gives the user the flexibility to test several options before
settling on the final criteria. Obviously, save any changes in order to use them moving forward prior to exiting the
object and/or application.
Lesson 3: Worksheets
Overview
Worksheets are for listing the results of a search in a spreadsheet format utilizing data fields chosen by the user.
Enterprise EHR data displayed in the resulting table can have its properties changed, sorted, filtered or exported as
desired.
Like Searches, Worksheets may also be saved in order to be used at a later time. For example, if there are data
fields from the Metalayer Tree used often, those fields can be saved to the database via a Worksheet in order to
save the user time adding fields. It is also possible to attach saved Search criteria to a Worksheet if a particular
Search or Searches are needed to populate proper data to a Worksheet.
At least one Search criterion must be present in order for a Worksheet to return any data.
In order to view results of a query using Worksheets, fields from the Metalayer Tree must be added. When added,
the fields will display in the Selected Fields pane in the center of the screen.
1. Select File.
2. Select New.
6. Double-click the medication- You can also drag/drop the data field.
medication Data Field.
Once fields have been added to a Worksheet, it may be necessary to remove certain fields if the goal for the
Worksheet has changed or the user is altering the query.
2. Select Remove.
Running/Loading Worksheets
After the appropriate data fields have been added to the Worksheet and an associated Search has been loaded,
the data is ready to be displayed. The data fields in the Worksheet will be the only indicator to what data was
returned in the query. For example, if the patient’s full name and insurance are added to the Worksheet, then all
patients and their insurance will display based on the definition of the Search.
The Search determines how many rows are returning as well as what data is displayed. For example, if the Search
is only returning records of those patients with insurance type of Aetna, then only those patients with Aetna
insurance will load into the Worksheet.
5. Right-click on medication-
medicationstatusname, and select
Add to Search.
7. Right-click on medication-medication,
and select Add to Search.
9. Click OK.
Distinct Rows
Based on certain Search criteria and/or fields chosen to display in a Worksheet, duplicate rows of data may appear.
For example, if within a Search the user wants to display all patients who have had an a particular test n the past 2
years, a patient may display more than once if they have in fact taken the test multiple times during that time
period. However, even if there is no field in the Selected Fields pane making the rows return unique for a
particular patient – i.e. Encounter date or numeric test result –the patient may still show up multiple times with the
same exact data if these example fields were used in the search criteria.
The Distinct Rows icon will remain highlighted until re-selected or the user leaves the Worksheet
object.
Managing Worksheets
Once data has been populated into a Worksheet, it may be displayed in various ways using different tools. The
spreadsheet data can also be exported to other file types in order to share with others in the organization that may
not have access to the Analytics product or for further managing of the data.
Sorting Records
One or more columns in the Worksheet may be sorted either in ascending or descending order.
Toggle
When data is initially loaded into a Worksheet, the data is displayed in full view with the Metalayer Tree and
Selected Fields pane hidden. To switch back and forth between the data being fully displayed and the ability to edit
the fields in the Worksheet, click the following icon in the toolbar.
The icon above is also available in the Analysis and Chart objects within Analytics. However,
“hovering” over the icon with the mouse arrow will display a different name depending on the
section of Analytics the user is presently accessing. In Worksheets, the icon is labeled Toggles
between full screen and edit.
Filter Records
Once rows of data have been returned in a Worksheet, the information can be filtered in order to only display rows
based on criteria set by the user. Of course the user may edit the Search driving the rows displayed, but filtering
gives the user a bit more flexibility without having to change the Search criteria or re-run the query against the
database.
Worksheets are filtered based on selected fields of data within the returned rows of information. For example, if
age was a field being returned in the Worksheet, a field in the age column can be selected and filtered using the
following operator options: =, <>, <, <=, >, >=.
Splitting the screen allows the user to see two or more copies of the worksheet simultaneously.
Split Worksheet
Find Records
With the possibility for many rows to be returned in a Worksheet, it may be necessary for the user to find certain
rows of data containing particular information.
3. Click Find.
Export
A user may export information from the Analytics application into other file types such as delimited text files, CSV
files and Excel. Analytics will export the data exactly as it appears on the screen. So, if a filter has been applied to
a Worksheet, only the filtered data will be exported and not all of the rows that were returned via the Search.
Saving Worksheets
If there are fields from the Metalayer Tree commonly added to a Worksheet, the entire Worksheet may be saved so
that users will not have to add the same fields each time they want to view a particular list of fields. Worksheets run
weekly, quarterly, yearly, etc. can be saved in order to have those Worksheets available on demand.
3. Select File.
4. Select Save.
If one or more saved Searches are used to populate data in a Worksheet, those Searches can be linked to a
particular Worksheet. This can save a user time – especially those users who are not familiar with the Worksheet-
Search relationship – when needing to populate information as fast as possible.
Multi-Search
When completing a comprehensive search, all results from the search will display based on what was queried from
the database. For example, if a search is constructed to return every time a patient took a Lipid Panel in the last
year, the same patient may display more than once if they took that test more than once during that timeframe. No
matter how small the date parameters set, a patient may still show up multiple times or not enough rows are
returned in order to make the sample valid or meaningful.
Analytics provides the opportunity to display just the last instance each of the search criterion was met. Using a
Multi-Search, the last time the patient had certain results from a Lipid Panel in the past year would show up and not
all instances of the test.
There are up to six different criterions a user can set when utilizing Multi-Search. For example, using Multi-Search
for Results means the user can set up to six different resultable items (i.e. LDL, A1C) as criteria for the search.
So if searching for all patients who have had a Lipid Panel in the past year with HDL Cholesterol less than 60, LDL
Cholesterol above 130 and Triglycerides greater than 180 – three of the possible six Multi-Search groups can be
used in order to find the most recent tests of patients who have fallen under the criteria.
It is important to keep the resultables used in the search separate – thus, the reason why there are separate
groupings for what is being used in the search criteria.
3. Select New.
The scenario above assumes the logic that the user is interested in finding out the last time a patient had an HDL
result less than 60 AND LDL result greater than 130. Simply adding search criteria to a Multi-Search will assume
that the user is interested in both scenarios coming true – hence, the AND clause.
However, if a user is interested in finding out the last time a patient had HDL results less than 60 OR LDL result
greater than 130, the user must utilize the same, initial Multi-Search option (i.e. Result1 or Finding1) for as many
criteria that are necessary. For example, the previous scenario – looking for HDL < 60 OR LDL > 130 would have
the search criteria set up like the following:
It is important to remember that the user cannot use one search object (Result1) that includes both
sets of criteria such as below. The system will not know which value (60 or 130) goes with which
result (HDL or LDL).
Nested Searches
Enterprise EHR Analytics provides the user the ability to eliminate duplicates returned from a search and focus
primarily on determining if search criteria exist within a patient’s record. Nested Searches are for returning a
unique list of patients without returning any of the ancillary details to why the search was constructed such as
problems diagnosed, patient encounters, tests taken, etc.
The user should only display a simple list – such as patient name – no matter how much criteria is
going into the construction of the search.
The patient will display only once as long as the user displays fields such as patient name, SSN
and/or MRN and not the encounter date in the display object (ex. Worksheets).
3. Select File.
4. Select New.
9. Expand Encounters.
10. Right-click
patientencountersstartdttm-
monthsago Data Field, and Add to
Search.
15. Click Yes to save search. It’s important to save each search, so the
search can be added as a Nested Search
at a later time.
button.
Nested Search
How Many?
Use the How Many? dropdown and textbox to place a limit on how many records are returned out of the Nested
search. Does there have to be at least two instances of the search criteria found per patient? No more than 10 per
patient?
Use the What Fields? box to indicate the field or fields that will be considered when returning the count. Using the
previous example of patient encounters in the past year, this section may limit the list of patients to those who have
had more than 1 patient visit (encounter) in the past year. If so, change the How Many? dropdown list to > and the
textbox to 1 to indicate that more than one encounter must have taken place in order for the patient name to be
returned. Since the query is looking for patient encounters, use a field such as patientencounters-encounterdttm in
the Metalayer Tree and click/drag the data field to the box. Double-click the field to remove the data field if
necessary.
Since the job of the Nested query (Encounters in Past Year) is to return unique values, it is necessary to determine
what field or fields will be used to ensure that all data returned is tied to a unique patient. These fields typically are
unique data fields – such as patient id – or some other combination of fields such as Last Name, SSN and Date of
Birth.
Since most information residing in Enterprise EHR is patient-centric, Patient-ID is typically used to define this
mapping of fields because it is a database-generated field tied to each patient. Even though there are several rows
available for mapping, one link between the Parent Fields column and Child Fields column is usually all that is
necessary. The only time to use multiple rows was if the user wanted to use multiple fields to ensure unique data.
38. Click Run (or F5). The system will return all patients who
have had an encounter in the past year
(unique list), but only display patients
from the list who are defined as “active” in
Enterprise EHR.
Stacked Searches
Combining/Appending the criteria accumulated from multiple searches is referred to as Stacked searches. If there
is a search that has been saved to the database that can be added to different search criteria the user is building,
then that search can be “stacked” on top of the existing search in lieu of having to re-enter that criteria as part of the
current query. Why should a user have to add complex criteria to a search if that user (or another user) has
already saved those criteria to the database previously?
For example, if a search already exists that returns all “Active” patients, that search can be stacked with search
criteria looking for those patients who have been diagnosed with a particular problem. “Active Patients” is a popular
search object that can then be stacked with most queries in the database in order to ensure that only active
patients are used in any search. They are similar to nested searches, with this distinction:
A Stacked search is different than a Nested search because a Nested Search considers a secondary search as a
subset of the first. This means that only records meeting the conditions of the sub-search will be considered available
to the main query.
With stacked searches, all searches are equal, and all conditions in all searches will apply.
DO NOT SAVE.
11. Click OK at the bottom of the screen.
Search Expressions
There are multiple possibilities for users when establishing Searches in Analytics. There are multiple Enterprise
EHR fields that allow for many combinations of data to analyze, report or simply display detailed information.
However, there are times when standard search capabilities are not enough for desired results.
Expressions are a good way for an organization to view patients already on a providers schedule in the future. The
following example displays an expression that looks for patient encounters from now through the next 7 days.
SQL Builder
For “power users” who wish to modify the syntax of a query directly, Analytics provides the SQL Builder. The
statement that a user creates on the SQL Builder screen only represents the WHERE condition of a SQL
statement. The field and table references also required in a complete SQL statement are provided through the
application’s code.
The goal of the following workflow is to determine if the overdue date of an Active Call Back task is greater than the
current date.
The user will first establish within SQL Builder that the query will only be looking for tasks that are labeled Call
Back and active before calculating the difference between the current and overdue dates.
When using SQL Builder, the user must include all WHERE clause options within the SQL Builder screen.
The user will not be able to access Quick Search or the Search screen once items have been added to
SQL Builder. Attempting to access the Search screen will populate SQL Builder.
Double-click tasktask_status_de-
entryname from the Task content
category to add it to the SQL Builder
Workspace. Type = and then Active
surrounding the status type with single
quotes.
7. Click OK.
Overview
Analytics Analysis provides crosstab functionality for breaking down data at a high level with the help of summary
columns/rows and ad hoc expressions/calculations while still being able to populate data from the Metalayer Tree.
Even though the Analysis tool provides a higher view of any organization’s data, users can still view the details of
the analysis as necessary by accessing the Analytics Worksheets object from within the Analysis object.
Crosstabs are for examining the relationship between different variables of information within Enterprise
EHR. Within a Crosstab, information can be totaled at the bottom of each column of data analyzed. In the example
below, the columns from left to right represent patient provider, a count of those provider’s active patients, how
many are hypertensive and how many of those hypertensive patients have had BP levels less than 140 (systolic)
over 90 (diastolic) respectively.
Information can also be analyzed in such a way so that expressions are built inside of the crosstab to see summary
information or look at percentages from one column to another. The two additional columns represent the percent
of patients who are hypertensive and the percent of hypertensive patients with BP levels less than 140/90
respectively.
For percent column totals at the bottom of the crosstab analysis, the average of the percentages in the
corresponding column will appear.
Crosstab Sections
Below is a description for each crosstab sections within the Analysis object:
Row Dimensions - establishes what field(s) will be defining how the data is measured. For example, placing the
patient provider field in the Row Dimension section will list all data by patient provider.
Data Fields - lists placeholders for data to be populated and/or analyzed. For example, Lipitor Meds (medications-
medications renamed) is a field representing a count of Lipitor meds per provider.
Column Dimensions – provides the ability to break down column information by a particular value from the
Metalayer Tree.
Slice Dimensions – fields to add ah-hoc within the crosstab after the crosstab has been populated.
Top/Bottom – Users can decide to only view the top/bottom number or percent of items from a search.
Overview
Analytics Analysis provides the ability to populate information into a crosstab displaying data in a summary format.
The next walkthrough will provide an example for the following scenario:
Analysis Scenario
Populate a crosstab analysis that displays the number of active patients actively taking Lipitor and prescribed in the
past 2 weeks per prescribing provider.
As is the case for any Analytics object, a Crosstab Analysis requires at least one set of search criterion to be set in
order for any data to be returned. For this scenario, an assumption will be made that the user is only interested in
viewing a count of active patients currently taking Lipitor, prescribed in the past 2 weeks and displayed by
prescribing provider.
8. Click OK.
Data fields are added from the Metalayer Tree to the appropriate crosstab section by performing a click/drag from
the field in the Metalayer Tree to the section. Some fields may show up in the proper section via a double-click
action, but not always.
Based on the type of information analyzed in the crosstab, it may be necessary to change how the information is
displayed. For example, if the user is displaying a count of patients by using the “patient-id” field, it is important to
make sure that the aggregate type is Count as opposed to Sum. If the field is left as Sum, then a sum of all patient
ids will display instead of a count of the patients themselves.
Count of Patients
1. Right-click on patient-id.
8. Click the Run button (or F5). Notice how the columns now sort by
Medications!
Slice Dimensions
Crosstab Analysis provides the user with the flexibility to add fields to a populated Crosstab on the fly. For
example, if the user would like to break the populated data down by gender, a gender-specific field from the
Metalayer Tree can be added to the Slice Dimensions section before re-loading the crosstab. Once loaded, the
field(s) added to the Slice Dimensions section will display above the column represented in the Row Dimensions
section of the crosstab.
Saving Crosstabs
( ) icon.
Overview
Analytics Analysis provides the ability to populate information into a crosstab displaying data in a summary format.
Utilizing a Link Group column will provide the user the ability to tie further Search objects to an existing Crosstab
Analysis in order to provide additional information than that of the original Search object.
For example, it is possible to have one column displaying the total number of active patients per provider and
another column to list how many of those active patients are diabetic. The same Search object cannot be used to
populate BOTH columns. There must be one search object for the active patient’s column and another search
object for the diabetic patient count.
It is also possible for additional columns to be added that will calculate a percentage, sum, etc. based on other
columns in the Crosstab. For example, listing the percentage of patients who are diabetic compared to those that
are actively tied to a provider.
Populate a Crosstab Analysis that displays the number of active patients per primary care provider, the number of
those active patients who are over the age of 60 and actively diagnosed with some form of Diabetes and the
percentage of those diabetic patients per active patients.
The number of items a user is looking to populate in the Analysis should correspond to the number of columns to
be populated. For example, the scenario above is looking for 3 items per provider:
• Count of active patients
• Count of those active patients who are diagnosed with some form of Diabetes and over the age of 60
• The % of patients with Diabetes over the age of 60 to active patients
As is the case for any Analytics object, a Crosstab Analysis requires at least one set of search criterion to be set in
order for any data to be returned. For this scenario, an assumption will be made that the user is only interested in
viewing a count of active patients per primary care provider.
The key difference between Crosstab Analysis with Link Groups and without is that there may be several Search
objects utilized within a Crosstab Analysis using Link Groups. The main search criteria will be used to populate
the 1st column in the Crosstab Analysis ONLY! Any additional search criterion for other columns will be
populated using Link Groups later in this section of the document.
As in previous examples throughout this document, search criteria must be populated in order to return any data.
Since the main search criteria is what is used to populate the initial column of the crosstab only, create and save a
search object that will generate active patients.
4. Click OK.
8. Select Count.
Since multiple columns may be populated within a Crosstab Analysis, there may be more than one column that is
populating multiple patient counts based on separate criteria. In this example, not only will active patients per
provider be populated (1st column), but also the total number of patients over 60 and diagnosed with some form of
Diabetes per primary care provider (2nd column). Thus, there needs to be two fields representing each count in the
Data Fields section.
In the 1st column, the example utilized patient-id as the unique identifier to best capture the proper amount of
patients. The 2nd column will utilize the same field (patient-id) in order to take advantage of the unique values tied
to that field. The second field may be renamed in order to help separate it from the initial instance of patient-id (see
Setting Up Data Fields and Expressions in this chapter).
The table tied to this Link Group should contain the field used in the Row Dimensions section. In this
walkthrough, the field for which the data is based is patientprovider-fullname. So, it is important to choose a table that
contains the same field as the one being used in the Row Dimensions section. However, it is not necessary to
physically select the field from the Field Name list box – just the table.
Mapping Dimensions
It is necessary to map the Link Group back to the row dimension since this Crosstab Analysis will be displayed per
patient provider (row dimension data field).
Step-by-Step: Mapping
button.
4. Click OK.
To return to the screen to edit the Crosstab Analysis, click the icon on the toolbar.
Once fields have been added to the Data Fields section, those fields can be defined further such as the display
name and other properties. Further, additional fields can be created and/or calculated based on existing fields in
the Crosstab Analysis via expressions.
Continuing this workflow, the display name for the existing two patient-id fields will be changed as
well as adding a 3rd field to the Crosstab in order to calculate the percentage of diabetic patients
tied to a primary care provider.
6. Click OK.
Since fields already existing in the Data Fields section will be used to populate another column, an
expression will calculate the number of Diabetic patients over 60 (2nd column) divided by the
number of active patients (1st column) per primary care provider.
Analytics provides the user access to different objects (Worksheets, Analysis, Charts, etc.) from the current object
loaded. However, within the Analysis object, a user can select a cell from a populated Crosstab and load the
details of that cell via the Worksheets object. This is called Drill Through functionality.
For example, the following Crosstab Analysis results are for patients actively diagnosed with some back ailment per
patient provider. The 1st cell in the Patient Total column is selected (contains the number 6).
To Add Additional Fields to a Worksheet during a Drill Through, complete the following:
Click the X button in the upper right corner of the screen to return back to the Analysis object.
3. Click OK.
Lesson 6: Charts
Overview
Analytics Charts provide a way to display data in a graphical format. Results, trends, etc can be easily displayed
and deciphered due to the Chart object’s easily configured interface.
Chart Workflow
In the following workflow, a Custom Report will be displayed to provide a count of patients on particular medications
for their actively diagnosed Asthma. Throughout the walkthrough, various property set-up options pertaining to
Analytics Charts will be detailed such as a Crosstab Chart and the legend box.
Build a search that will pull all patients actively diagnosed with asthma and taking at least one of a list of
medications.
This search is necessary in order to pull the data to be populated in the chart. Search criteria can be created via
the Analytics Worksheets section or via the Metalayer data tree within the Analytics Charts object.
X-Axis
Data loaded into the X-Axis section will detail how the chart is defined. For example, adding problemprovider-
identifiedby-fullname into the X-Axis section will list data by the full name of the provider identifying (assessing) a
patient’s problem. If Medication-Medication is added into the section, the data will be defined by individual
medication. A basic question to ask when deciding what field to add to the X-Axis section may be – what is the
chart based on (Provider, Medication, Problem, etc.)?
Data Items
Data Fields added to the Data Items section define what the chart is depicting by total count, average, sum, etc.
For example, adding patient-id with aggregate type COUNT to the Data Items section will list how many patients
are returned for a particular scenario such as number of patients diagnosed with a particular problem. A question
to consider asking when deciding what field to add to the Data Items section may be – what is the chart attempting
to measure (medication type, type of problem, number of patients)?
For this walkthrough, the chart compiled will be based on particular medications taken and is measured by the
number of patients taking those medications. Thus, medication is the X-Axis value and the count of patients is the
Data Item.
To return an accurate number of patients, utilize the patient-id field from the Metalayer Tree. This is a
unique identifier that is created by the database. Test patients and duplicate patients can make fields such
as MRN and SSN difficult to trust unless properly updated.
The chart, when loaded, will display a total count of actively diagnosed asthmatic patients per medication.
Loading a Chart
Once all search criteria has been established and sections of the chart have been properly defined, it is now time to
view the results of the populated chart.
Below is an example of what the chart may look like. However, results will vary based on the data within the
organization’s Enterprise EHR system.
Click the Gallery icon to display a list of chart type options (pie, line, etc.) for displaying the data results. The chart
will default to Bar, but can be changed and gallery option saved.
The X-Axis Labels icon gives the user options to alter how the labels on the X-Axis will display on the chart.
Click the down arrow on the X-Axis Labels icon within the toolbar
once the chart has been loaded.
1
Click in the textbox to the right of the Label Angle field and change
the field from 0 to 45.
2
Charts may be exported to a file/folder via three different options – PDF, Word or Excel.
The Edit Chart icon will navigate the user back to the screen where chart definitions are declared. From here, a
user may change how the chart is pulling data from the database and/or which fields will define the chart.
To Drill Through to a Worksheet using the fields associated with the X-Axis and Data Items sections of a populated
Chart complete the following:
To Drill Through to a Worksheet using additional fields associated by the user, complete the following:
Crosstab Charts
Charts may be defined by more than the X-Axis and Data Items. A Cross Tab will add the Series Items section to
the chart in order to better display how data fields are displayed in the chart. Examples of fields that can be used in
a cross tab (gender, age category, etc.) can vary, so this walkthrough will use gender to illustrate.
Chart Toolbar
The Show Chart Toolbar will display another layer of toolbar options for displaying data on the chart. Additional
icons include Legend Box, Rotate, and Zoom.
To display the legend box to help users quickly understand the differences in color on the chart (if necessary), click
the legend box on the Chart Toolbar. This will pop open a legend to the right of the chart (see below).
Copy the loaded Chart to the clipboard as either a bit map, metafile or text file (data only)
Change color
Populate the data editor where the individual counts can be viewed per data item type.
For example:
3d/2d icon – toggle the chart between 3D and 2D view. When selected, the chart is in 3D
view while 2D when unselected.
Rotate the chart as well as changing depth and perspective parameters
Z-clustered icon
Zoom, Print Preview and Print icons (respectively) for loaded Chart
Tools icon that displays additional toolbar options such as Values Legend, Series Legend
and Data Editor via a dropdown. Also allows user to toggle between Toolbar, Palette Bar
and Pattern Bar views.
Stacked Chart
Displaying data with multiple, colored bars within the chart/graph can get a little difficult to read. In order to save
some room on the chart’s X-Axis, the chart type can be changed to a stacked chart in order to stack all appropriate
series information along the X-Axis.
Once the chart has been loaded, click Properties on the toolbar.
1
Select General.
2 From the General (1st) tab, locate the Stacked label within the
Effects section.
4 Click OK
Data will display once the user hovers the arrow over a stacked section showing the proper series item type
(gender), the X-Axis field (medication name) and the number (count) of patients that fall under the selected criteria.
Once the chart has been loaded, click Properties on the toolbar.
1
Select General.
From the Series (2nd) tab, click the checkbox next to Show point
labels.
Click OK
2
Saving Charts
Click OK.
Because there may be Charts populated often, organizations can make sure that certain search criteria is always
linked to certain Chart objects in order to keep everything straight and consistent. It does not mean that there are
only certain searches that can be run for certain objects. It just means that users will have an easier time deciding
which search objects go with which Chart objects.
3
Use the Ctrl or Shift keys to select multiple
Search objects.
Click OK
The next time this Chart is loaded as an object, the selected search object(s) will default when selecting the Open
Top/Bottom
Users can decide to only display in a chart the top or bottom number or percent of items from a search.
4
Check the As Percent? checkbox if the
top/bottom number will represent a percentage.
Constant Lines
A line can be added to the chart to represent any significant median, average or target values.
Overview
Analytics Custom Reports provides users with a report building tool that can drive Pay for Performance initiatives,
data analysis and organization utilization review amongst other critical needs. With organizations constantly in
need of reports to dissect client and organizational trends, Analytics Custom Reports is a solution that will deliver
these needs utilizing a simple user interface.
Getting Started
Double-click Analytics Custom Reports from the Ad-Hoc tab on the main screen to load the object.
Headers/Footers
There are three types of report headers/footers that can be displayed or hidden in a report:
Report – any labels, images, etc. added to a report header/footer will display at the top/bottom of the report only.
Page – any labels, images, etc. added to a page header/footer will display at the top/bottom of each page in the
report.
Group – Group headers are for combining or “grouping” common data together in the report. For example, if a
patient name data field is placed in a group header section, (when report is loaded) all pertinent data in the report
tied to that patient will be listed together instead of scattered throughout the report.
There are several icons tied to the Custom Reports object that can enhance a report for users:
Set parameters and defaults for prompting user prior to the report loading to define
what group or groups of data will populated in the report
Add/View a report title
Snap to Grid will automatically align items within a section of the report
Toolbox Controls
Select
Label
Textbox
Image
Line
Shape
Rich Text Edit
Frame
Sub Report
Page Break
Barcode
Add Chart to Report
Page Number
Properties Window
The Properties Window is for changing/updating parameters for an individual control within the report sections.
Click a control (label, data field, image, etc.) within the report and update properties such as alignment, back color,
caption name and font parameters (size, style, effects).
Report Scenario
To demonstrate functionality within the Custom Reports object, the following scenario will be used.
Populate a Custom Report displaying all patients who have had a Hemoglobin A1C by provider. For all test results
that are greater than or equal to 9, the background color will display in Red, while results less than or equal to 9 will
display in Blue. Format the report by adding labels, images, page numbers and date where necessary.
Build a search that will pull all active patients who have had a Hemoglobin A1C per primary care provider.
This search is necessary in order to pull the data to be populated in the report. Search criteria can be created via
the Analytics Worksheets section or via the Metalayer Tree within the Custom Reports object.
The following parameters for the search are examples of both a way to limit patients who are active and a
particular resultable name. However, each organization may have these data items defined differently.
Custom Reports not only depend on the hard data that is generated via a custom search, but also how the data
elements are labeled and formatted in order to make the report easier to comprehend by any user. The following
sections take the user through adding and formatting data elements such as labels, images and lines.
Adding a Label
2
Replace what is currently in the Caption field with
Provider.
When changing the BackColor of a control to a desired color, the color will only display if the BackStyle is net to
Normal.
Adding a Line
Adding an Image
What controls to add to a report template is up to each organization. To continue with this workflow, add the labels,
images, lines, etc. in order to generate a report that displays the following header information.
If the size and format of labels is to be consistent, simply build one label control and copy/paste it back into the
header. The caption can simply be changed for the other labels keeping the format similar and saving the user
time.
Custom Reports requires adding the fields from the Metalayer Tree. Open the appropriate content categories and
complete the following workflow for examples.
Clicking F8 will toggle the display of the Metalayer Tree.
It is beneficial to put common information together within a report. For example, all patient test results can be listed
together by patient instead of having the patient’s name and test results scattered throughout the report. This is
called grouping and it streamlines report information to make it easier to find common data per provider, patient,
etc.
Be sure to have at least one GroupHeader header/footer section added to the report template.
1 Click the down arrow to the right of the Insert Section icon within
the toolbar.
To add Header/Footer sections into the report template, see Headers/Footers in this document. To continue
using the workflow scenario, add 2 group header/footer sections.
Once the necessary data fields have been added to the Properties/Selected Fields pane, it is now time to place
those fields in the proper section(s) of the report template.
3
Hold down the ctrl button and use the keyboard arrows to
move the field without using the mouse.
4 Add the following data fields to the areas listed:
GroupHeader1:
patientprovider-fullname
GroupHeader2:
patient-fullname
Patientpatient_other-enterprisemrn
Detail:
result-numericresult
result-clinicaldttm
When adding fields to the Detail section, a corresponding label will appear in the group header section above the
detail section. You can choose to leave this and take out the corresponding date and result labels in the
PageHeader section or take them out of the group header section.
In order to save space and pages in your report, collapse the sections so that only the data fields are displayed.
The report will not only display the data fields, but also any space that has been left open within the sections. The
screenshot above displays the footer sections completely closed and the header sections enclosed around the data
fields.
Once all data fields have been added to the report template and a proper search has been constructed, the report
must be previewed to verify results.
1
Click the Print Preview icon ( ) in the
toolbar.
To return to the design view, click the tab at the bottom-left of the screen.
Because Custom Report objects may be run several times each week, quarter, year, etc. organizations can decide
to make sure that certain search criteria is always linked to certain Report objects in order to keep everything
straight and consistent. It does not mean that there are only certain searches that can be run for certain objects. It
just means that users will have an easier time deciding which search objects go with which Custom Report objects.
To link one or more searches to an individual Report, complete the following.
Click OK.
The next time this Custom Report object is loaded, the selected search object(s) will default when selecting the
The report can also show standard field definitions such as a date field, page numbers, and an English query.
3
Double-click one of the common
expression options – Page, Date or
Enterprise EHR Analytics.
For information on how to add expressions not tied to existing fields in the report, see SQL Builder in this
document.
Parameters can be set in order to allow users to limit what is returned in the report. For example, a report may
generally return 500 records based on Hemoglobin A1C results. However, a parameter can be set to force the user
to select only certain providers or test result parameters in order to limit the records to 150.
6
Click OK to load the report.
2
Double-click the field in the Detail
fields section to change the sort
order from ascending to descending.
Analytics Custom Reports provides the ability to format fields based on data that is pulled into the report template.
For example, if certain results need to be highlighted due to their critical readings, the Visual Basic Editor tool can
be utilized for placing Visual Basic code on a particular field to set up default fonts, back color, etc. based on what
is returned for a given data field.
The following example sets formatting specifications on a field that resides in the Detail section of the report
template walkthrough example. The screenshots below provide examples of VB code, but is not a comprehensive
tutorial on Visual Basic in general. Administrators will need to understand VB programming to continue to add
more advanced options in the script.
In the example above, any value returned to the txtnumericresult field that is greater than or equal to 9 will display
with a red background and white, bold text. Otherwise, the background will display in blue with white, bold text.
As the user types this information into the editor, some field options may auto-display (such as DataValue) and
others will not (backcolor, forecolor). For those that do not auto-display, continue to manually type those entries
into the script.
Sub Reports
A Sub Report is a separate Custom Report object embedded within another report. The Sub Report is considered
the “child” report embedded within the main or “parent” report. This is a powerful tool because it provides the user
with the ability to pull data from multiple tables and display the data in one report.
The screenshot above displays patients with upper respiratory problems by provider. The information inside of the
box to the right of the patient’s name represents a Sub Report linking medication information to the patient in the
parent report. The medication information is pulled from a separate report and search criteria developed outside of
the parent report.
Sub Reports are small reports that generally include only data fields. However, a Sub Report MUST include at
least one data field that is also listed in the parent report. This is necessary in order to link the proper data in the
Sub Report to the proper, grouped data fields (i.e. Patient ID, Provider Name) in the parent report.
Create a Custom Report that will display the date a medication was prescribed as well as the medication name.
There will be no header information, so there is no need to have a report or page header/footer section in the
report.
Select the following fields from the Metalayer Tree and place them in the appropriate sections of the report:
Fields Report Section
patientprovider-fullname GroupHeader1
problem-problem GroupHeader1
patient-id GroupHeader1
patient-fullname GroupHeader1
medication-medication Detail
medication-rxdttm Detail
When adding fields to the Detail section, a corresponding label will appear in the group header section above the
detail section. You can take the labels out of the group header section for this walk-through.
The reason for adding fields to the GroupHeader1 section is that those fields will be available to link to the
same fields displayed in the parent report. However, it is not necessary to display these grouped fields in
the Sub Report, so the section can be collapsed – only displaying the medication information in the Sub
Report (see below).
Create search criteria that will limit the results returned in the Sub Report. There will be separate search criteria for
the parent report.
Add/Link the search criteria to the Custom report in order to save time finding the appropriate search criteria when
adding as a Sub Report later in this section.
The Sub Report is run as an embedded report within another parent report. Create a parent report that will utilize
the Sub Report’s detailed data fields (i.e. medication and prescription date). The Sub Report will be added last, so
just add the appropriate header/footer information as well as other data fields that will be driven by the parent
report’s search criteria.
In the screenshot above, the fields in the GroupHeader1, GroupHeader2 & GroupHeader3 sections (fullname,
problem, id and patient-fullname) are the same fields added to the GroupHeader1 section of the Sub Report (see
Build Sub Report). These will be used for linking the parent and child reports.
As in previous examples throughout this document, search criteria must be populated in order to return any data.
Since the main search criteria is what is used to populate the main report, create and save a search object that will
generate patients with upper respiratory problems.
1
Click/Drag to draw
where the Sub
Report will reside in
the parent report.
Chatter Box
The example used in this workflow will display a Sub Report for each patient provider that is listed in the report.
The Chatter Box option determines how often the search for the Sub Report will execute. If the Chatter Box is set
to False (unchecked), the search for the Sub Report will execute once — then each set of joins will be evaluated in
turn, against the results of that search. If the Chatter Box is set to True (checked), the join fields become part of the
search criteria run for the Sub Report. Hence, the query will run twenty times if the parent report is displaying 20
doctors. When tying a Sub Report to a field that is being used to group data – i.e. Provider – leave the box
unchecked to have the query run faster.
Click Add.
Click OK.
Be sure to add appropriate search criteria to the parent report in order to pull the proper data initially into the report.
The search criteria used in the Sub Report is for the data populated within the Sub Report section ONLY. The rest
of the parent report is driven by the search criteria tied to the parent (main) report.
When all Custom Report fields/labels are set as well as the search criteria, run the report to populate the results.
Overview
The Analytics Access Center is a collection of one or more objects (Reports, Charts, Crosstabs) allowing users
instant access to key indicators and information pertaining to provider data and/or organizational operations. Users
may be assigned multiple Access Center dashboards and object panels that display the information pertinent to the
user’s needs on a daily basis. If there is one Access Center option that the user views frequently, the user can
make those objects load automatically when entering the Access Center object.
Getting Started
Double-click Analytics Access Center from the Ad-Hoc tab on the main screen to load the object.
There are two major components to the Analytics Access Center: Dashboard and Object Pane.
The Object Pane displays multiple objects listed within one or more user-
defined categories. These categories are displayed to the left of the screen
and can be labeled any way the user chooses, in any order and can contain
any available type of object. In the screenshot to the left, the categories are
listed from top to bottom in the following order:
• Problem Diabetes/Asthma
• Coronary Artery Disease
• Back Pain
• Upper Respiratory/Asthma
• DM Reports
• Diabetic Patients
Selecting an object from one of the Object Pane categories will display the object within the Dashboard component.
Below is the Pat Total Diabetes Asthma (Crosstab Analysis) object from the Problem Diabetes/Asthma category.
An Access Center object is a combination of one or more Dashboards and Object Panes containing several items
created from various objects within the Analytics application. All combinations of items can be saved into one
Access Center Object and opened as needed.
2
Click OK to load the
saved Dashboard
Definition.
Object Panes are created, edited and saved as part of the Access Center object and not individually like
Dashboards.
When an object from the Object Pane is loaded, it may hide the different dashboard tabs that are visible once an
Access Center is loaded to the workspace.
Before Selecting an Object Pane Item After Loading an Object Pane Item
To re-load the dashboard definitions, click the Close Desktop Item icon ( ) in the toolbar at the top of the
screen.
Since there are two main components included in the Analytics Access Center – Dashboards and Object Panes –
there are two setup areas for the administrator to choose depending on what components are to be added and/or
edited.
An Access Center can contain one ore more Object Pane categories or Dashboard definitions defined as each
organization desires. To add and/or edit components, complete the following:
Open the PAC Setup dialog box by clicking the PAC Setup ( ) icon.
The PAC Setup dialog box is split into two sections. A majority of the dialog box is reserved for defining Object
Pane categories. The very bottom of the screen is reserved for defining Dashboard definition tabs. All Object Pane
parameters – categories and objects per category – are defined within this screen. Only the Dashboard definition
tabs at the bottom of the screen are defined within this screen.
Objects added to a Dashboard definition are defined while a selected Dashboard viewer tab is in design mode.
This will be covered later in this chapter.
Click OK.
Click OK.
Dashboard Setup
After a Dashboard Viewer tab has been added to the Access Center, it needs to be populated with any of the
following items:
To add any of the above items to a selected Dashboard, click in the toolbar to enter design mode. To load
changes to the Dashboard and leave design mode, re-select the icon.
Key Performance Indicators (KPI) display numeric results based on certain Worksheet or Analysis objects as well
as database sources. Administrators can establish specific, color-coded parameters for the data displayed in order
to give users identifiable indicators to report trends, etc.
If a KPI has already been saved to the database, it can be loaded to a Dashboard viewer tab.
Administrators can create new KPI items to add to a Dashboard Viewer tab based on existing objects. However,
the user must 1st enter into design mode within the selected Dashboard.
Click Next.
8 Click Next.
10
The values used to format the results will
depend on the type of data that is being
returned. In the example to the right, the
aggregate type of Sum is used for returning
the sum of patients per patient-provider.
11 Click Next.
14
Enter a KPI Name, KPI Category and KPI
Description in the dialog box.
Click OK.
To verify that the results in the KPI Value column are correctly reflecting the total count of patients per provider that
the Analysis object displays, match rows of information from the following Crosstab Analysis to the KPI results.
Once a KPI has been defined and saved to the database, it can be modified as necessary.
Daily Monitors
Daily Monitors provide the user a way to toggle between objects within one section of the Dashboard Viewer tab.
The options to display within the Daily Monitor are Worksheets, Crosstab Analysis and a Data Source.
Monitor, click .
The Analytics Access Center provides administrators with the ability to create customized Daily Monitor definitions
for a Dashboard Viewer tab.
5
After selecting an object, the fields to the
right of the screen will enable.
Click OK.
7
Enter a Daily Monitor – Detail Name, Daily
Monitor – Detail Category and Daily
Monitor – Detail Description in the dialog
box.
Click OK.
Once a Daily Monitor has been defined and saved to the database, it can be modified as necessary.
Analytics Access Centers contain many components, categories and objects. All of these items can be saved
simultaneously or individually utilizing the Save PAC Items dialog box. When any aspect of the Access Center is
added or modified, the user will be prompted to save to the database.
Any items added or modified to the Object Panel component (left side of the screen) will prompt the user to save
the Access Center itself. All other items that are created or modified apply to the Dashboard Viewer.
To save all objects within the Access Center, select Save All from the File menu bar.
2
KPI and Daily Monitor definitions as well as Data
Sources are saved when created, so those items will
not need to be saved in this dialog box.
( ).
Session 2: Administration
Analytics provides several administrative tools for configuring the product that ensure users have the proper access
to objects, tools and data. The Administrative portion of the Analytics application is for users making decisions on
how the application is to be configured, which users will have access to the product and at what level of access do
users have while utilizing the product.
Lesson 1: Security
Overview
Along with planning for and generating reports and analysis for utilization, it is crucial for organizations to plan and
establish parameters surrounding user access in order to ensure that patient confidentiality and user trends are
kept secure.
This document has been about defining objects (reports, analysis, search criteria, etc.) in Analytics. Each user that
has access to creating a particular object will automatically be given full access (view, modify and save) to that
object created. However, this is the only time that access rights are granted directly to an individual user. Any
other user of the application must be given access to that saved object through User Groups. Each user will be
tied to one or more User Groups in order to streamline how access rights to objects are distributed. Over the
course of time organizations will create many objects, thus making it increasingly difficult to assign rights to a user
who may need access to numerous objects. If an administrator has already established a User Group that has
been given access to the objects a new user needs, it is easier to tie the user to the group instead of picking out all
of the possible objects and individually granting those objects to the user.
When a user creates an object and saves it the first time, access rights may be granted to one or more user
groups. However, granting rights to an object is not limited to the user creating the object. An administrator can
utilize the Administration section of Analytics to grant access to user groups after establishing and defining those
user groups.
Even though a user can grant access as objects are being saved to the Analytics database (see Save Search on
page 18 for more), it is still the job of system administrators to supervise everything associated with security within
the product. Administrators create users and user groups as well as determining what items are available to those
users and groups.
To access all security features for the product, double-click Security from the Administration tab on the main menu.
User Groups are for granting access rights to one or more users simultaneously.
Once a User Group has been created, permissions must be granted in order to establish what access is available
for this group. There are five levels of permissions that may be set per User Group.
Group Forms
Group Forms establish what areas and/or objects of the product are accessible to a User Group.
2
A list of existing forms tied to the selected group will appear
in the Form Name list box.
3 Click Add located to the right of the Form Name list box
(top-right of screen).
Select one or more forms from the Add Forms dialog box
and click OK.
Only forms not already tied to the selected User Group will
display in the Add Forms dialog box.
Group Fields
Analytics security provides the ability to conceal or hide certain data fields. For example, certain groups of users
may not need to see social security numbers displayed within a given object. Fields added to the Group Fields
section of security will be hidden in the Metalayer Tree.
Not only will a field added to the Group Fields permissions section be hidden, objects that depend on the hidden
field to run will not populate. For example, if social security number is a criterion set within a search and that
search is populating data into a report, the report will not run for a group of users who do not have access to that
field because the driving force of the report is not accessible to the user group.
To add a data field to the Group Fields section, complete the following:
From the Group Management tab, select a User Group from the
Name list. This will highlight the name in blue in the list.
3 Click Add located to the right of the Hidden fields for group list
box (top-right of screen).
4
Double-click the data field to
move it to the Field List.
5 Click OK.
Group Values
The Group Values section is for limiting what data fields from selected Analytics tables are available to a User
Group. For example, if certain provider’s names are added to this section, those providers are the ONLY providers
a group of users can have access to. This is the opposite of Group Fields where User Groups did not have access
to fields added to the Group Fields sections. Anything added to Group Values establishes what the User Group
can view.
Leaving this section blank means the group has access to all fields in all tables. Adding just one field from a table
now limits all access to just the fields added to the Group Values security section.
Click OK.
Group Objects
Group Search
Group Search provides the ability to limit access to tables that have already been associated to search criteria tied
to an established search object. A User Group may have access to a certain search object, but this section gives
an administrator the ability to lock down tables used within that Search.
2
Existing search objects already tied to the
selected group will appear in the Searches
for group list box.
Click OK.
User Management
System administrators can add, edit or delete users from the Analytics application by navigating to the User
Management tab within Analytics Security.
Security rights are not assigned to users directly, but through User Groups. For information pertaining to User
Groups, see Creating User Groups.
3
Precision Authentication – utilizing
Windows authentication by adding
windows domain reference to the user
name. Analytics does not use this
feature at the moment.
Force Password Change – user will be
forced to change their password at next
login.
Is Administrator? – Admin privileges
granted to the user.
Click Add.
Overview
There are two areas within Enterprise EHR Analytics where user passwords can be
changed.
Change Password
Change Password gives a user the opportunity to change their password only.
2
Click OK.
Reset User Password gives an administrator the opportunity to change any user’s password.
From the Reset Password dialog box, select a User and enter a
New Password and Confirm (re-enter new password).
Overview
The Metalayer Engine provides a listing of all fields within the Metalayer Tree as well as how those fields are
defined. Only a limited number of “super” users should have access to this section because editing field definitions
could cause issues running objects in the system.
All available data fields to a user are listed within the Metalayer Tree. However, an administrator can modify
content category names as well as where data fields reside and in what order the data fields are listed.
Click in the toolbar to load the Metalayer Tree workspace. There are four panes within the Metalayer Tree
dialog workspace:
• Metalayer Tree – current Metalayer Tree definition
• Group Level 1 – current list of content categories
• Group Level 2 – list of sections under a selected content category
• Fields – list of data fields within a selected section
Click OK.
2
Click OK.
2
Click OK.
All additions and/or modifications to the Metalayer Tree must be saved by clicking
in the toolbar. To preview how the new additions and/or modifications will
appear in the Metalayer Tree, click in the toolbar.
It is possible to add new data fields from existing tables or to create a data field based on an expression.
Expressions are handy to add to a Metalayer Tree in order to cut down on the time it takes to populate calculated
fields via a search object. If the calculation already exists within a data field in the Metalayer Tree, then the user
can just select the data field as if it were representing a data field in the Enterprise EHR database.
Even though adding data fields and/or expressions is available, please contact Allscripts prior to adding to the
Metalayer Tree because the field and/or expression could be added to the database permanently in the next
product release if found necessary for all clients.
Click in the Analytics Metalayer toolbar to load the Add metalayer field dialog box.
Expression – enter expression into the Expression textbox or click the Expression Builder ( ) icon to create an
expression associated with the new Metalayer field.
Data Type – select either text, number, or date from the dropdown.
Default Format – enter a default format for the data type.
Keywords – keywords are used as an aid in searching for the new Metalayer field. To enter multiple keywords for
a data field, separate the keywords with commas.
Allow Distinct Value Selection – click this checkbox if users can select distinct values for the new Metalayer field.
When all pertinent data has been added, click Add. All additions and/or modifications to the Metalayer Tree must
be saved by clicking in the toolbar.
Overview
Scheduler Wizard
Enterprise EHR Analytics is a tool for scheduling jobs to run on the server. A job consists of tasks that the server
must execute at specified times. For example, a job is set up to run a report on Friday each week.
1 Click Next.
Click OK.
Click OK.
Click OK.
8
Click OK.
Click OK.
Click Next.
Adding Tasks
All jobs contain one or more tasks (worksheets, reports, charts or crosstab analysis) to run on a particular schedule.
2
Click OK.
Click next to a job to open and view all details of the selected job.
Job details may be modified after the job has been scheduled and/or tasks have been assigned.
Delete Jobs
Select a row in the Job Definition table and either click from the toolbar or right-click the row selected
and select Delete Row.
Overview
Managing Objects
Analytics objects can be edited or deleted within the Object Management workspace.
If an existing Search is used to populate data in an object (Worksheet, Chart, Crosstab Analysis or Custom Report),
the Search (or multiple searches) can be linked to a particular object. This can save a user time when needing to
populate information as fast as possible. It is also possible for an administrator to un-link a search from an object if
necessary.
Click OK.
Click OK.
Edit Categories
Each time an object is saved to the database there are two pieces of information required: an object name and
category. The list of categories available to users can be modified using the Edit Categories dropdown within the
Object Management workspace.
Click OK.
2 Click Delete.
Overview
User Audit provides a workspace for administrators to review all activity for any
user utilizing the Analytics application.
The User Audit workspace is separated into three sections. The top section lists all user settings, the middle
section is for defining audit options while the bottom section lists the audit results.
There are additional user settings that can be set within the User Audit workspace.
Max Rows – the maximum number of rows that a user can return within an object.
Query Limit – set a maximum amount a time (in seconds) that a query can run against the database.
Password Change – set the number of days a password is active before the user is forced to change.
Overview
The tabs above allow the administrator to review processes that are running currently, running the longest,
returning the most rows of data from the database as well as the most often “killed” processes.
Managing Processes
The following are options for an administrator to help manage processes in Enterprise EHR Analytics.
Delete a selected running process. Only available within the
Currently Running TWA Processes tab.
Refresh the currently selected tab.