Data Externalization Database Design
- Selecting and mapping the data in the LIS to the data in the web-based reporting system may be a major challenge.
- It is very likely that the structure of the web-based reporting database will different from the structure or the LIS database.
- LISs were designed for different purposes and through different technologies. The majority of LISs in practice do not use RDBMS. Often they were not formally designed at all or have been "hacked" over the years to provide new capabilities.
- You may not need all of the data in the LIS - for example, the LIS might include cytology cases and all you want are surgicals. You will almost certainly need additional tables to deal with data integration, user profiles and security.