Database Reference
In-Depth Information
DATA VIEWS
PROCESSES
INFORMATION
REQUIREMENTS
PatientID
PatientName
Condition
Diagnosis
Procedure
AttendingDoctor
Medication
Services to
patients in
E/R
INFORMATION
ABOUT
patients, physicians,
treatment procedures,
medical conditions,
diagnoses, hospital
stays, billing rates,
medications ………..
PatientID
DateOfAdmission
Medical Condition
TreatmentProcedure
LengthOfStay
BillingAmount
Billing
Medicare for
services
Figure 5-11
Data views as parts of information requirements.
center. A single data set constitutes one particular view of the entire collection of
data. Figure 5-11 indicates how each data set forms a part of the information
requirements.
Several processes, similar to the two described here, form the entire business of
the medical center. You have seen that each process requires a data set or a data
view. When you put all these separate views together, you arrive at the entire set of
information requirements. Therefore, you may perceive the combination of all the
data views as the collection of information requirements for an organization.
Windows into the Data System
Move on to another way of understanding data views. Imagine the database system
to be structure like a building with many windows. If you look into the database
system through a single window, you are likely to see a specific set of data elements.
If you look through a second window, you will see another set of data elements. A
third window will provide you with a view of yet another set of data elements. Just
pause to note that some of the data elements observed through one window may
overlap with a few of the elements seen through another window. A second signif-
icant note is that the windows do not represent the actual data; they are just means
for looking at sections of the data itself.
Let us understand how this analogy relates to data views. Get back to our uni-
versity database. This database supports the various processes performed at the uni-
versity. As examples, take two processes such as course registration and assignment
of final grades. Consider the computer screens and reports that enable these two
processes to be performed. The screens and reports for each process contain a set
of data elements from the university database. What the user is looking at from the
screens and reports of a particular process is a set of data elements from the data-
base. This is like looking into the database system through a specific window. The
view of data for the process is the view of data through a specific window.
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