Technical Overview of Clinical Vision

Clinical Vision is a web enabled, n-tier client server application built with object oriented design on a relational database utilizing component architecture leveraging a dynamic framework designed by Clinical Computing's development team.  In addition, Clinical Vision utilizes distributed databases, exploits multi-processors and embraces the concept of load sharing.

...Ouch...what does this stuff mean???

Framework architecture

Clinical Computing developed an architecture within which we built Clinical Vision.  This framework stores basic system behaviors, look and feel and business rules.  By doing this, we are able to apply basic system functionality to any new functionality we are developing.  This has many benefits:

• Faster speed to market
• Cleaner code on delivery
• Consistent look and feel for easier training and user adoption

Component architecture

Component architecture allows developers to create a portable, reusable code base.  It also allows us to quickly deploy component updates, such as changes to charge codes.  Components are designed to work easily with other components, making the management of a complex application much simpler.

Web enabled

Clinical Vision is accessible via the web.  This is accomplished via the same server as the traditional Windows clients.  Clinical Vision makes available the user interface through Internet Explorer so that customers can take advantage of thin client technology. 

Distributed databases

Distributed databases allow for the segregation of data by type.  For instance, core clinical data (generic patient information) is kept separate from dialysis data and transplant data.  However, the data may apply to one patient.  By keeping information in appropriate databases, Clinical Vision provides the necessary data views and security to comply with today’s regulatory and privacy requirements.  In addition, Clinical Vision rolls the data into a single reporting database that is a mirror of the production database.  By doing so, users are able to query the system for reporting purposes without impacting production software performance.

Object oriented

A popular buzzword that can mean different things depending on how it is being used. Object-oriented programming (OOP) refers to a special type of programming that combines data structures with functions to create re-usable objects.  What is unique about re-usable objects is that they can often outlive the objects that created them, thus extending the life of a software system and its components.

Relational databases

A relational database is one that stores data in the form of related tables. Relational databases are powerful because they require few assumptions about how data is related or how it will be extracted from the database. As a result, the same database can be viewed in many different ways.  An important feature of relational systems is that a single database can be spread across several tables. This differs from flat-file databases, in which each database is self-contained in a single table.  Almost all full-scale database systems are relational. Small database systems, however, use other designs that provide less flexibility in posing queries.

Load sharing

Clinical Vision includes components that are charged with continuous monitoring of the performance of the system, and with measuring the load on components carrying out the clinical work.  It is these monitoring components that decide when to activate clones of overloaded components so that system wide production is not interrupted.

Exploitation of multi-processors

The performance of a multiprocessor computer can only be realized if the software it runs has been written with multiprocessing in mind. To do this, the programmer must build the software as a network of parallel processes, sometimes known as threads. This allows the operating system to allocate processors to processes in such a manner as to keep as many processors occupied as possible, increasing system response time.

The combination of the above technology, with our years of building clinical information systems experience delivers a total solution that is scalable, malleable, easy to use and extremely future resistant.

Now that didn't hurt so much, did it???