Connect to FHIR Data in ACL Analytics

ACL Analytics, part of Diligent HighBond, is a powerful data analysis software primarily used for audit, risk management, and compliance. It enables professionals to examine and analyze large volumes of data to identify anomalies, trends, and potential risks or fraudulent activities.

CData Connect Cloud offers a dedicated cloud-to-cloud interface for FHIR, enabling analytics directly from live FHIR data within ACL Analytics, all without the need for data replication to a native database. With its inherent optimized data processing capabilities, CData Connect Cloud efficiently channels all supported SQL operations, including filters and JOINs, directly to FHIR. This leverages server-side processing to swiftly deliver the requested FHIR data.

Configure FHIR Connectivity for ACL Analytics

Connectivity to FHIR from ACL Analytics is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with FHIR data from ACL Analytics, we start by creating and configuring a FHIR connection in CData Connect Cloud.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "FHIR" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to FHIR. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to FHIR.

   Set URL to the Service Base URL of the FHIR server. This is the address where the resources are defined in the FHIR server you would like to connect to. Set ConnectionType to a supported connection type. Set ContentType to the format of your documents. Set AuthScheme based on the authentication requirements for your FHIR server.

   Generic, Azure-based, AWS-based, and Google-based FHIR server implementations are supported.

   Sample Service Base URLs

   • Generic: http://my_fhir_server/r4b/
   • Azure: https://MY_AZURE_FHIR.azurehealthcareapis.com/
   • AWS: https://healthlake.REGION.amazonaws.com/datastore/DATASTORE_ID/r4/
   • Google: https://healthcare.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/datasets/DATASET_ID/fhirStores/FHIR_STORE_ID/fhir/

   Generic FHIR Instances

   The product supports connections to custom instances of FHIR. Authentication to custom FHIR servers is handled via OAuth (read more about OAuth in the Help documentation. Before you can connect to custom FHIR instances, you must set ConnectionType to Generic.

   
4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add FHIR Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect Cloud through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect Cloud. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect Cloud app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to FHIR data from ACL Analytics.

Connect to FHIR from ACL Analytics

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect Cloud from ACL Analytics to create a new FHIR data source. The CData Connect Cloud Virtual SQL Server allows you to establish a connection to your data from integration tools that support connections to SQL servers. The Virtual SQL Server mimics the behavior of a traditional SQL server, and it supports a range of query options.

1. With your Analytics File open, select 'Import' --> 'Database and application'
2. Create a new SQL Server connection
3. Set the connection information
   • Server: tds.cdata.com
   • Port: 14333
   • Auth Scheme: Password
   • Username: a Connect Cloud user, for example, [email protected]
   • Password: the PAT for the above Connect Cloud user
   • Database: the name of your FHIR connection, for example, FHIR1
   
4. Click "Test Connection"
5. Click "OK"
6. You are now ready to work with your FHIR data in ACL Analytics!

Live connections to FHIR data from your applications

ACL Analytics can now connect to live FHIR data directly through Connect Cloud, allowing you to analyze FHIR data without duplicating it.

To get live data access to 100+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your applications, try CData Connect Cloud today!