3. CaseTrack technology

This page contains an overview of the software technology in CaseTrack. Please feel free to contact Conejo for more details.

Software architecture

CaseTrack is implemented using Microsoft operating system and network components, including the .NET Framework. Although the usual CaseTrack installation uses an Microsoft SQL Server as a data provider, there is considerable flexibility in this regard (including other DBMS such as Oracle or data streams such as HL7).

The basic CaseTrack configuration consists of the following three tiers:

· database (typically Microsoft SQL Server)
· Query Packager webservice
· CaseTrack user software (unlimited copies)

Interoperability.CaseTrack interoperates with other Microsoft applications, including Excel and Access, through data-exchange mechanisms such as the clipboard and ODBC. CaseTrack can also use the email functionality of its host database (e.g. SQLMail in SQL Server) for user-initiated messages and automated notifications.

Confidentiality

In CaseTrack, client data is protected by permissions at several levels:

· Client-level permissions. Access to any client's record can be limited only to groups of users who have explicit permission to view the record.
· Form-level permissions. Access to any CaseTrack form can be limited to a specific group of CaseTrack users.
· Field-level permissions. Data fields can be given "read-only" access or made invisible.

In CaseTrack, you define a group by naming it, associating a set of users with it, and assigning it a set of client-, form-, and/or field-level permissions. By associating each user with an appropriate set of groups, you can fine-tune each user's permissions for access to confidential client data.

Performance

In an intranet installation, typical user-interface response time (that is, the time it takes to display a screenful of data) is less than one second. This varies, of course, depending on the complexity of individual database queries and on the amount of data transferred.

In practice, we have found that this level of performance can be met with comparatively modest hardware resources:

· server: 2GHz, 2GB RAM
· user computers: 1.2GHz, 1MB RAM

Unlike web-browser applications, where page markup is a significant percentage of the data transmitted, CaseTrack performance degrades well in low-bandwidth settings (e.g. slow or congested networks, encrypted VPN or WAN) because relatively little data is transferred in each query-response transaction.

Reporting

CaseTrack supports reporting in several ways:

· Preprogrammed displays. CaseTrack displays frequently-used and frequently-changing reports (such as a bed-status list in an emergency shelter) in a sortable grid.
· Ad hoc displays. You can create your own complex or ad hoc reports in SQL and display them in CaseTrack's generic "Reports" screen.
· Complex or infrequently-used reports can be generated using SQL or with any database programming tool that can access CaseTrack's client database.

All data displayed in CaseTrack can be immediately printed as well as transfered to other tools such as Microsoft Excel.

For more information...

Please check out our Q & A page for information on other topics including security and customization. And we are always ready to answer technical questions by phone or email.