Why are databases important in the implementation of an electronic health record?

 

Part One

Given the knowledge you have gained about data dictionaries and metadata, put yourself in the role of an electronic health record designer. Specify the attributes that should be included in the database to correctly identify and track patients. Attributes are the individual data types that can be represented as “columns” in the data table.

Your database attributes and the specifications of the attribute should be listed in a table format–Excel spreadsheet or a Word table. The content in your spreadsheet or table should include:

  • Data attribute or element
  • Definition
  • How many characters long should this data attribute or element be
  • What type is the data attribute (text, numeric, etc.)
  • Any other specifications you think would be important to the attribute or element

Example:

Data Attribute

Definition

Characters

Type

Other Specifications

Patient First Name

Patient First Name

30

Text

None

Part Two

The second part of this assignment is a one-to-two page written essay answering the following questions regarding databases:

  1. What is a database?
  2. What kinds of functions and uses do databases perform?
  3. Why are databases important in the implementation of an electronic health record?
  4. What is a data dictionary, and what is its purpose? How can data dictionaries help with your day-to-day work?
  5. Explain why developing a data dictionary so important?
  6. Explain data sets, and what they are used for in healthcare information.
  7. You must include a reference page with at least two references.

You should have two documents for this assignment.

Submit your completed assignments to the drop box below. Please check the Course Calendar for specific due dates.

Save your assignments as a Microsoft Word or Excel Document for Part One, and a Microsoft Word Document for Part Two. (Mac users, please remember to append the “.docx” extension to the filename.) The name of the file should be your first initial and last name, followed by an underscore and the name of the assignment, and an underscore and the date. An example is shown below:

Jstudent_exampleproblem_101504

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