Data Repositories

Abstract

Data repositories are dynamic systems for storing, organizing, and retrieving clinical and administrative data. These repositories are used to support clinical care and clinical administration. Data may be retained in several data warehouses and data marts to support care, analysis, decision support, and process improvement and for a range of other purposes. This chapter focuses on data storage, retrieval, and database queries. The term database in the context presented in this chapter means the entirety of the data storage and retrieval system. This includes the physical data storage and the database management system. Data warehouses are secondary databases, meaning that they are not directly populated by data from the healthcare providers. A data mart is similar to a data warehouse but with a restricted focus, typically on a single issue.