Journal:A benchmarking analysis of open-source business intelligence tools in healthcare environments
| Full article title | A benchmarking analysis of open-source business intelligence tools in healthcare environments |
|---|---|
| Journal | Information |
| Author(s) | Brandão, Andreia; Pereira, Eliana; Esteves, Marisa; Portela, Filipe; Santos, Manuel F.; Abelha, António; Machado, José |
| Author affiliation(s) | University of Minho, Instituto Politécnico do Porto |
| Primary contact | Tel.: +351-967-562-540 |
| Editors | Susilo, Willy |
| Year published | 2016 |
| Volume and issue | 7 (4) |
| Page(s) | 57 |
| DOI | 10.3390/info7040057 |
| ISSN | 2078-2489 |
| Distribution license | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International |
| Website | http://www.mdpi.com/2078-2489/7/4/57/htm |
| Download | http://www.mdpi.com/2078-2489/7/4/57/pdf (PDF) |
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Abstract
In recent years, a wide range of business intelligence (BI) technologies have been applied to different areas in order to support the decision-making process. BI enables the extraction of knowledge from the data stored. The healthcare industry is no exception, and so BI applications have been under investigation across multiple units of different institutions. Thus, in this article, we intend to analyze some open-source/free BI tools on the market and their applicability in the clinical sphere, taking into consideration the general characteristics of the clinical environment. For this purpose, six BI tools were selected, analyzed, and tested in a practical environment. Then, a comparison metric and a ranking were defined for the tested applications in order to choose the one that best applies to the extraction of useful knowledge and clinical data in a healthcare environment. Finally, a pervasive BI platform was developed using a real case in order to prove the tool's viability.
Keywords: business intelligence; open-source; healthcare; benchmarking
Introduction
Increasingly, the healthcare sector is looking for computer applications to support the daily practice of health professionals. is particularly desirable in this sector as, besides being free, it has a source code that is fully available to users for viewing, reading, modification, and redistribution, without the restrictions of ownership of the product (unlike free software, which only allows its use without charge).
Open-source software differs fundamentally from an ownership model in terms of the development process and the product licenses. All open-source applications are licensed by an open-source license, which gives the user the right to use the software, access and modify the source-code, and redistribute the software for free. This type of software is very popular due to its many advantages, since it promises to accelerate the diffusion of information technology (IT) solutions in healthcare. Thereby, it can contribute to reduced development costs.[1][2]
One the other hand, the choice of a free license software in health and medical informatics is important because it determines the user’s rights and can influence the developers’ willingness to participate in a project, the quality of the product, and the willingness of users to adopt certain applications.[1][2]
In terms of costs, organizations can save on licensing fees and reduce expenditures on specific computer hardware. However, organizations need to welcome and train specialized collaborators in the adoption of open-source solutions. This type of situation has the hidden costs of highly skilled employees, implementation, maintenance, and a support process, which may lead to adopting proprietary solutions.[1][2]
The acquisition of a business intelligence (BI) tool and its implementation are quite advantageous for the health organization. Extending their use can have a positive global impact. However, the healthcare environment has some particularities that a BI solution should be prepared to answer. For example, the BI system could lead to resource optimization in various departments; it will improve the clinical condition of the patient through efficient diagnosis and the identification and application of the best practice protocols for treatment, among others.[3]
In order to help decision-makers make the best choices, a benchmarking study of BI tools focused on the healthcare environment was performed. After a thorough review of the literature, it was determined which tools were being used in this study. These tools were selected based on their good performance in several areas, such as management, healthcare, or retail.[4][5][6] Thus, the tools selected for this study were QlikView[7], Palo BI Suite[8], Jaspersoft BI[9], Tableau Public[10], SpagoBI[11], and Pentaho BI Suite.[12]
The analysis of this type of software emerged during a project that included the development of a BI platform in maternity care to visualize clinician and management indicators, as well as integrating data mining (DM) predictive models. All the tools were tested using real data provided by the Centro Hospital do Porto (CHP) and Centro Materno Infantil do Norte (CMIN). With this study, it is intended to select the BI tool that best suits the healthcare sector by using a practical case.
Besides the introduction, this article includes eight sections. The second section provides an approach to the background and related work, in which the concept of business intelligence is addressed and an introduction to the case study is presented. The third section is concerned with the application of BI tools in healthcare environments, followed by the requirements considered essential in these tools, in the section "Tool Requirements in Healthcare Environments." Thereafter, the next section addresses in more detail the tools selected; and the section "Business Intelligence Tools — Assessment Process" discusses our approach to the case study. Finally, the last sections correspond to the results, discussion, and conclusion.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Janamanchi, B.; Katsamakas, E.; Raghupathi, W.; Gao, W. (2009). "The state and profile of open source software projects in health and medical informatics". International Journal of Medical Informatics 78 (7): 457-72. doi:10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2009.02.006. PMID 19321384.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Waring, T.; Maddocks, P. (2005). "Open source software implementation in the UK public sector: Evidence from the field and implications for the future". International Journal of Information Management 25 (5): 411-28. doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2005.06.002.
- ↑ Muraina, I.D.; Ahmad, A. (30 July 2011). "Healthcare Business Intelligence: The Case of University's Health Center". Universiti Utara Malaysia. pp. 27. http://www.academia.edu/4465749/Healthcare_Business_Intelligence_The_Case_of_University_s_Health_Center.
- ↑ Bernardino, J. (2011). "Open Source Business Intelligence Platforms for Engineering Education" (PDF). Proceedings of the 1st World Engineering Education Flash Week, Lisbon 2011 2011: 693–698. http://www.sefi.be/wp-content/papers2011/T13/164.pdf.
- ↑ Brandão, A.; Pereira, E.; Portela, F. et al. (2015). "Predicting the risk associated to pregnancy using data mining" (PDF). Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence 2015. doi:10.5220/0005286805940601. http://repositorium.sdum.uminho.pt/bitstream/1822/36738/1/ICAART_2015_178_Andreia.pdf.
- ↑ "Canada Health Infoway". Canada Health Infoway, Inc. https://www.infoway-inforoute.ca/en/. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ↑ "Qlik". QlikTech International AB. http://www.qlik.com/us/. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ↑ "Jedox". Jedox AG. http://www.jedox.com/en/. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ↑ "Jaspersoft". TIBCO Software, Inc. https://www.jaspersoft.com/. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ↑ "Tableau Public". Tableau Software, Inc. https://public.tableau.com/s/. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ↑ "SpagoBI". Engineering Ingegneria Informatica S.p.A. http://www.spagobi.org/. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ↑ "Pentaho". Pentaho Corporation. http://www.pentaho.com/. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
Notes
This presentation is faithful to the original, with only a few minor changes to presentation. In some cases important information was missing from the references, and that information was added.
