Understanding Strategic Reporting in SystmOne
SystmOne’s Strategic Reporting module is designed to offer non-real-time, comprehensive datasets for secondary uses, primarily research, analytics, and population health reporting.
The data is extracted and shared in structured CSV files, encapsulating a range of clinical, demographic, and administrative tables. Each integration relies on a configuration-driven approach, allowing recipient systems to specify the scope, granularity, and frequency of data exports. The data is primarily intended to populate data warehouses or analytic environments for post-processing and reporting.
Configuration: Tailoring Extracts to Specific Needs
Integration begins with configuring the extract on the SystmOne client, where users with appropriate access rights define several key parameters. These include the selection of tables, the columns within those tables, and how data from static and locally configured lists are normalised. Extracts can be configured to include either full history or deltas – records that have changed since the last extract.
One of the more flexible aspects of the configuration is the ability to limit full downloads to data from a specific number of recent months. This is particularly useful for partners seeking to backfill recent data without incurring the overhead of historical data not relevant to their analysis.
Configuration options also include the ability to zip downloaded files and select specific file delimiters and text qualifiers for compatibility with downstream systems.
Data Transfer and Security Protocols
SystmOne has an internal download scheduler to manage data transfer. This process must be initiated from a SystmOne client, usually running on a designated Gateway PC. Files are saved to a specified local directory and are typically organised with timestamps into an archive structure for traceability.
Transfers occur over a secure socket layer on the HSCN network. All data in transit is encrypted using industry-standard protocols, and local configuration settings ensure that only authorised users with appropriate access rights can initiate or modify data extract parameters.
At rest, data is written to local storage where organisational security policies apply. TPP advises that local systems implement rigorous access controls on these directories to safeguard sensitive patient data.
Each extract includes an SRManifest file, which is critical for data validation and loading workflows. This manifest lists each CSV file included in the download and specifies whether the file contains a full extract or a delta, whether it is reference data, and the date range covered by each file. Parsing this manifest is a vital step before loading data into external systems, as it guides the ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) logic and helps prevent duplicate or missing data ingestion.
The system is designed to provide delta updates for improved efficiency, but under certain circumstances, full downloads are triggered. These include configuration changes, the addition or removal of tables, or a failure to download deltas for a period exceeding 21 days. Delta files include not only updated and new records but also records marked for deletion, using a flag to denote their removal.
This nuanced behaviour necessitates a robust handling mechanism within recipient systems to differentiate between inserts, updates, and deletions effectively. It also implies the need for version control and historical data tracking mechanisms in the data warehouse layer.
The data extract includes both user-configured and system-mandated files. In addition to the requested data tables, several supporting files are always included – most notably the mapping and manifest files. These are essential for decoding normalised list values and for understanding the scope of the data provided.
Static list values and locally configured lists are represented through relational mapping files – SRMapping and SRConfiguredListOption – where each list item is assigned a unique identifier linked to its human-readable label. These mappings must be respected during data integration to ensure semantic correctness in downstream applications.
Reference tables, which apply globally across organisations, differ from standard tables in that they do not include the IDOrganisationVisibleTo column. Non-reference tables, on the other hand, must be interpreted in context, as data visibility varies by organisation. This distinction is essential for correctly modelling data relationships and access scopes in the receiving systems.
Triggers and Auditing
Strategic Reporting includes mechanisms to track and audit each data extract. These include both front-end audit screens within the SystmOne client and metadata embedded in the SRManifest file. This transparency ensures that data recipients can reconcile what has been received with what was expected.
Common triggers for a full extract include user-initiated requests, structural changes to table configurations, the addition of new organisations to the reporting group, and systemic errors in the delta extraction process. Such flexibility allows for resilience but also requires that integrators be prepared to handle large volumes of data when a full extract is triggered unexpectedly.
Best Practices for Integration
To maximise the effectiveness of your integration with SystmOne Strategic Reporting Extracts, several best practices should be observed:
- Manifest-Driven Loading – Always parse the SRManifest to determine which files are deltas and which are full extracts. This prevents data loss or duplication.
- Idempotent Processing – Your ETL pipeline should support idempotency – reprocessing the same extract should yield the same results.
- Schema Version Control – As TPP can change table structures, your data ingestion layer should validate against the latest table specification.
- Robust Archival Strategy – Maintain versioned archives of all downloaded data for audit and disaster recovery purposes.
- Security and Compliance – Ensure all access to patient-level data complies with NHS data governance and your internal IG policies.
Challenges and Considerations
While the system is powerful, there are some integration challenges to be aware of. Firstly, the need to run a SystmOne client on a Windows machine limits automation potential unless virtualisation or scripting mechanisms are deployed. Secondly, delta logic requires that your system has a robust method for handling deletions and detecting when full extracts should replace partial ones.
Another consideration is around scaling. As your integration expands to multiple organisations, the complexity of managing multiple extract configurations, particularly with varying schedules and data scopes, increases significantly.
Conclusion
Integrating with SystmOne’s Strategic Reporting Extracts through IM1 is a substantial opportunity for digital health companies to build robust, population-scale data platforms. The extract’s design, though legacy in nature, provides a reliable and well-documented method for securely acquiring structured clinical data across organisations.
Understanding the nuances of configuration, transfer protocols, file semantics, and data lifecycle management is key to a successful and resilient integration. For organisations that can absorb and operationalise this model, Strategic Reporting provides a rich data source capable of powering analytics, research, and intelligent digital health applications at scale.
Are you thinking about integrating with the SystmOne Strategic Reporting Extracts? Contact 6B for support.