Re: [Gnumed-devel] lab data fetcher/importer connection methods

[J Busser]

At 10:10 PM +1100 2/15/05, Ian Haywood wrote:

> > The other data clearinghouse provides a
> > mailbox system in which discrete files are picked up via sftp using a
> > Windows (only, Visual Basic) client
>                           ^^^^
> SFTP is part of SSH. This sounds quite strange,
> > provided by the clearinghouse. They
> > advise me they would be willing to have a clinic's (non-Windows)
> > server connect but that they would require the clinic server to run an
> > sftp daemon so that the clearinghouse would push (?) the files onto
> > the clinic server.
> Even stranger. I'm not sure this really
> is the SFTP I'm thinking of.
> We need heaps more information to comment.

I should perhaps have said via SSH / SFTP (see below).

Would be happy to forward any proposals to Doug for

a suitable / preferred connection method for GnuMed

to access a mailbox design for data pickup.

MediNet (www.medi.net) serves as a data clearinghouse for

many of the hospitals and public labs (like our Centre for

Disease Control). They had provided me with more info

(below).

The other main data provider is a joint venture between

the 2 largest private labs in the province, they are the ones

who require an SSL VPN connection and (I believe) querying

their repository.

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "James Busser" <address@hidden>
> To: <address@hidden>
> Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2005 11:28 AM

> Subject: linux server connection via ssh for sftp access

>

> Doug -

> Could you correct errors and/or clarify what my technical advisers/
> programmers may need to know, especially the part

> "Could potentially do it in the other direction" - thanks!

> --- (Dr) Jim Busser

>

> > [What you wrote below] is
> essentially correct.
> > I would be happy to discuss this
> further with
> > your developers once you get further
> along with your project
> > Doug

.
>
> Downloading
>
> MediNet hosts the data that they receive in mailboxes, whose HL7 or
> text file contents are downloaded either directly by the practice
> site or (in the case of EMR vendor "Nightingale") by an ASP.
>
> MediNet's Visual Basic (MS) desktop client
> - optionally runs in unattended mode
> - is configured by Medinet to hold the account id(s) for the
> mailbox(es) [directories] that are to be queried
> - runs an interactive session via ssh
> - ssh connects to MediNet "frontend" server (outside firewall)
> - client (??) "calls"(??)
> i) fetcher script traverses firewall to fetch data from their
> protected server on which the lab data was originally written
> ii) transfer script call sftp file transfers to the customer
> iii) cleanup script relogs in to do cleanup
> - prints logs (automatic or manually)
> - prints results (automatic or manually)
> - leaves data files untouched permitting EMR to import them
>
> Manual customer-initiated sftp connections would be a confidentiality
> problem because sftp daemons are (apparently) not very good about
> restricting navigation across directories. Userid/pw credentials are
> not mapped/mappable to individual mailbox directory levels, ergo if a
> person connected *manually* there would be nothing to stop them
> browsing other directories
>
> **Could potentially do it in the other direction**
> Customer runs an sftp daemon on customer side
> Customer establishes SSH connection?
> MediNet script pushes the file over
>
>
> Data formats
>
> The data from *some* labs is coded within HL7 formatted files,
> permitting such data to be brought into patients' EMR as granular
> (individual coded test) results. However much of the lab data and
> reports handled by MediNet are plain text around which Medinet wraps
> a standard text header to permit vendors to link within their EMRs to
> individual patients, the data being imported as a document (text

> blob) rather than as coded values.