Importing Data
From Silverstone Matchmaker
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This chapter helps you import a properly formatted data file into Matchmaker so you can perform all the procedures contained in this guide. You'll use a sample file that comes with the product so you can get started right away. Later, you can work with your IT department and they can provide real data files for your facility that are updated automatically and available when you need them.
What is a Data File?
A data file is a text file used to populate Matchmaker's database with PKD patient data for your facility or program. After the database is loaded, Matchmaker can perform all its powerful matching functions. As information changes in your PKD pool, you will use Matchmaker's Update command to update the data in Matchmaker's database. Matchmaker even allows you to maintain more than one database and switch between them, but that story is beyond the scope of this guide.
The data file you'll be importing is like a large table containing a row for each donor-recipient pair in your PKD program. It is in CSV (Comma-Separated Value) format, which means it is a plain text file using the comma character as a separator to indicate each new row and column entry in the file. This format is commonly used by spreadsheets and databases to exchange data.
Each row in the data file contains the names of the donor and recipient, as well as all the cross-match data that was used to determine their transplant compatibility. Of course, the donor-recipient pairs in a row are incompatible, which is why they are in the PKD program. Matchmaker will find matches from this pool of incompatible pairs.
Refer to Appendix A for a detailed description and format requirements for a Matchmaker data file. You'll want to provide this information to your IT department too so they can automate the process of creating and delivering data files for your facility or program.
Importing a Data File
After installing Matchmaker, you need to load the database by importing a data file. (It's possible to input data manually too, but that's not recommended and is not covered in this guide.) In this chapter, you'll import a sample data file you can use to explore the product. When you're ready to import actual data from your facility, the procedure will be the same.
To import the sample data file:
1. Click the Import tab in the upper lefthand part of Matchmaker.
- The Import/Update Database screen appears.
2. Do you see the two sample data files (sample1.csv and sample2.csv) in the list box?
- If Yes, skip to Step 3.
- If No, click Refresh. If the files appear, skip to Step 3. If the files do not appear, contact Silverstone Solutions Customer Support.
3. In the list box, click sample1.csv to select it.
By default, Matchmaker looks in the import directory of the folder in which Matchmaker is installed and lists any data files it finds there. For information about changing the import directory, refer to Changing the Import Directory.
4. Click Import to import the sample data file and create an active database from it.
In a few minutes, the sample data is ready to use and an error report is shown in the Matchsheet area at the bottom of the Matchmaker screen.
You'll be updating your data frequently with new patients or revised information about existing patients, so let's learn how to do that now.
Before going to the next section, click on the Matchmaker tab and note the number of VXM-6 Matches. After you update the database in the next section, that number will change and you'll be set with the database used throughout the rest of this guide.
Updating the Data
Normally, you wouldn't update your database until some time had passed and you wanted to include changes that have occurred (like new pairs being added, changes in pair status, new test results, etc.) since your original import. So we could have made updating the database the last section of this guide, but to make things simple and keep related topics together, we'll cover it here.
Typically, you should import a data file once (or rarely) and update it regularly. Of course, there are exceptions to this, but it's important to know this is best practice behavior. Updating changes or appends data to the existing database while importing purges Matchmaker's active database. When you purge the database before an import operation, you lose any notes and changes you made in the dataset using Matchmaker. For example, within Matchmaker you can add notes or change a patient's status or other information and Matchmaker saves the information in the active database. But Matchmaker never changes your import file and has no way to make your notes and changes persist beyond the active database. By importing a data file once and then updating it with newer data, you maintain your notes and changes.
To update the sample data file:
- Click the Import tab in the upper lefthand part of Matchmaker. The Import/Update Database screen appears.
- In the list box, click sample2.csv to select it.
- Click Update to update the active database using the new information found in sample2.csv.
The updated file imports and in a few minutes, the summary screen and error report appear (as you saw previously in Importing a Data File).
Checking for Import Errors
After an Import or Update operation, Matchmaker alerts you to any unusual data or problems with an import report.
Typically, this report is nothing to be alarmed about but should be reviewed briefly after each update. You can also save the report if you want to keep a record.
Each message in the import report is either a notice, warning, or error.
- Notice is the lowest level of severity and may indicate that a value for an existing record changed during the update (e.g., John Smith's PRA1 changed).
- Warning (more severe than a notice) indicates a missing or invalid value in a record.
- Error is the most severe indicator and means that critical data was missing in a record (a person or a pair) and the record was not accepted from the data file.
You can dismiss the import report from the Matchsheet area by clicking the close box in the upper-right corner of the import report.
Changing the Import Directory
By default, Matchmaker looks in the import subdirectory where the application is installed and lists all the data files it finds there. Alternatively, you can specify a different default directory and Matchmaker will always look there for data files to import. The current setting is always displayed in the Import Directory field near the top of the Matchmaker Database Import and Update screen.
If you are receiving data files on disk or by email, you may keep the default setting and put your data files in the import directory as you receive them. If this is located on a local drive, check your backup policies to ensure your data files are safe in the event of a hard disk crash. If you set the import directory to a network shared directory, you typically gain the advantage of inheriting backup policies that are more robust than those used with a local drive.
The most elegant approach of all is to use a network shared network drive for your import directory and establish policies and automated procedures with your IT department so that new data files are created on a recurring schedule and automatically placed in the specified import directory. You will also want to establish a naming convention for your data files that typically uses the file's creation date as part of the filename.
To set the import directory:
- Click the Import tab in the upper lefthand part of Matchmaker. The Matchmaker Database Import and Update screen appears.
- Click Change.
- In the dialog box that appears, browse and select the directory you want to use for your data files and click Select.
All data files with the CSV filename extension appear in the list box and the new directory path appears in the Import Directory field.
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