i2b2 Release 1.7.10

Release Date: May 2, 2018

Release Summary

Release 1.7.10 contains several new enhancements to the i2b2 kernel, many of which improve the security around signing into the i2b2 Web Client. We have included some Auditing features like logging all successful and attempted logins into the i2b2 Web Client or keeping a log of all the Admin functions performed with the Admin Module.

Highlight of Features

• Log admin and sign on activity
• Lock users out after a specific number of failed login attempts
• Require users to change passwords after a specified interval of time
• Prevent users from using the same password when required to change it.
• Enforce complex password requirements defined by the i2b2 Administrator.
• Custom SQL Breakdowns
• Temporal query made simple
• Single sign-on
• Improve datasource validation

Installation Notes

This release note applies to you if you are upgrading your i2b2 to 1.7.10 from an earlier 1.7.xx version of the i2b2 software. Please see the Upgrade Notes section for any information that is specific to the upgrade process. 

If you are upgrading your i2b2 in a SHRINE network please read the information in the SHRINE Networks section before proceeding.

If you are installing a new instance of the i2b2 we recommend you refer to the i2b2 Installation Guide found on the i2b2 Community Wiki. This documentation will guide you through the entire installation process. If you run into issues or have questions you can reach out to the community by joining and emailing the google group called i2b2 Install Help.

SHRINE Networks

Upgrade Notes

It is important when you upgrade your "i2b2 software" that you upgrade all the components that make up the software package. In release 1.7.10 the following i2b2 components contain changes and therefore must be upgraded when upgraded your i2b2 environment.

• i2b2 Database
• i2b2 Server (kernel)
• i2b2 Web Client

Upgrade Paths & Software

The i2b2 now provides two options for upgrading your i2b2 server.

1. Continue to download the source code provided in the zip file released on www.i2b2.org/software
2. Install the precompiled JAR files onto your existing i2b2 server to upgrade it to 1.7.10.

Both are acceptable paths to upgrade your i2b2 server and depending on which you choose will determine where you need to go to obtain the appropriate files. The location of the upgrade files for each component is outlined below.

Description	Where to find it	Requirements
Scripts to upgrade the i2b2 Database to 1.7.10	Software page on the i2b2 Website	Download the i2b2createdb-1710.zip file under Source Code in the "Downloadables" section
Source code to upgrade the i2b2 Web Client to 1.7.10	Software page on the i2b2 Website	Download the i2b2webclient-1710.zip file under Source Code in the "Downloadables" section
Source code to upgrade the i2b2 Server to 1.7.10	Software page on the i2b2 Website	Download the i2b2core-src-1710.zip file under Source Code in the "Downloadables" section
JAR files to upgrade the i2b2 Server to 1.7.10	Upgrade to latest version page on the Community Wiki	See Technical Details section on the i2b2 Upgrades page and upgrade documentation on Upgrade to latest version page.

Upgrade Documentation

Documentation	Where to find it	Website
Database changes included in this release	Database Changes
List of core changes included in this release	Change Summary - i2b2 Kernel (Core Software)
List of Web Client changes included in this release	Change Summary - i2b2 Web Client
Details about the new features	Details about New Features in Release 1.7.10
Technical details and notes about upgrading the i2b2 server	Upgrade i2b2 page	i2b2 Community Wiki
Upgrade Instructions (server)	Upgrade to latest version page (Instructions section)	i2b2 Community Wiki
Core documentation - Technical doc for i2b2 cells	i2b2 Documentation zip file (i2b2core-doc-1710.zip)	i2b2 Website/software

 These are sections located within this document. All other documents are external pages either on the community wiki or on the i2b2 Website.

Database Changes

Release 1.7.10 involves a few changes to the i2b2 Database. Some are simple an addition to the sample data that is included in the demo data that is delivered with the software while others are changes to the database structure to support new features that are included in 1.7.10

Crcdata Tables

QT_BREAKDOWN_PATH

• Added new breakdowns for the new SQL Query Breakdown feature

QT_QUERY_RESULT_TYPE

• Added new breakdowns for the new SQL Query Breakdown feature
• Added new column to support roles based access for the new SQL Breakdowns
  • New column name = QT_ROLE_CD

Pmdata Tables

PM_USER_LOGIN table

• Remove the primary key
• add an index PM_USER_LOGIN_IDX

Change Summary - i2b2 Kernel (Core Software) - Release 1.7.10

New Features and Improvements

Additional information about each of these features can be found in the Details about New Features in Release 1.7.10 section located after the Change Summary section for the Web Client.

Bug Fixes

Change Summary - i2b2 Web Client Software - Release 1.7.10

New Features and Improvements

Additional information about each of these features can be found in the Details about New Features in Release 1.7.10 section located after this section.

Bug Fixes

Details about New Features in Release 1.7.10

For the purpose of these release notes the new features in the 1.7.10 release have been categorized into four categories.

As part of the Auditing improvements and overall security enhancements included in the 1.7.10 release all

1. Auditing improvements
2. Password management improvements
3. Query improvements
4. Miscellaneous improvements

Auditing improvements

There are two new features that fall into the auditing improvement category.

• All attempts to sign into the i2b2 Web Client will be logged.
• All activity within the the Admin module will be logged.

Log number of attempted logins

JIRA Issue: CORE-285

All successful and failed login attempts to sign into the i2b2 Web Client will be logged in the PM_USER_LOGIN table.

Highlights of New Feature

• No additional setup is needed to turn the enhancement on
• Even when a user is locked out the system will log when they attempt to access the system

Log Admin Functions

JIRA Issue: CORE-286

Functions performed within the Admin module will be logged within the PM_USER_LOGIN table.

Password management improvements

There are four new features that all revolve around improving i2b2 security by improving how passwords are managed within the i2b2. Site administrators will now have control over requiring users to change passwords, use complex passwords, and lock users out for entering the wrong password too many times.

Highlights

1. Account lockout
2. Mandatory password change
3. Prevent repeat passwords
4. Enforce complex passwords

Account Lockout

JIRA Issue: CORE-287

Accounts are locked and users are not able to sign into the i2b2 after a specific number of failed login attempts have been made.

Highlights of New Feature

• 2 new global parameters
  1. PM_LOCKED_MAX_COUNT
  2. PM_LOCKED_MAX_WAIT_TIME
• Account lockout threshold and wait time is defined by the site Administrator.
• Users are locked-out when the defined number of failed attempts have been reached.
• Once locked
  • user receives a lockout message
  • user must wait a preset period of time
• Successful login resets the number of failed logins

New Parameters

Two new Global Parameters were created as part of the new lockout feature. These parameters must be defined in the PM_GLOBAL_PARAMS table for users to be locked out after the defined number of failed attempts and number of minutes they must wait before attempting to try again.

PM_LOCKED_MAX_COUNT Parameter

• Threshold for failed sign-in attempts
• The value is inclusive. i.e. if you enter 4 then the 4th time the user enters the wrong password they will receive the error message and their account will be locked.

PM_LOCKED_WAIT_TIME Parameter

• Number of minutes an account is locked before a user can sign in again.

Mandatory Password Change

JIRA Issue: CORE-287

Require users to change passwords after a specified interval of time. The i2b2 Administrator controls the number of days allowed before a password must be changed. If a user attempts to sign on after their password has expired, the i2b2 Change Password window will open and the user must change their password before they can sign on. Once the user changes their password, the system will calculate the next expiration date for that user.

Highlights of New Feature

• Require users to change passwords
• i2b2 Admins control how often (interval)
• Change password window will open when password expired
• 2 new parameters; 1 global & 1 user
• The system uses the value in the global parameter to calculate the next expiration date and adds the appropriate user parameter to the table.

Summary of password expiration process

New Parameters

Two new parameters were created as part of the Mandatory password change feature. Both parameters are called PM_EXPIRED_PASSWORD however one is set within PM_GLOBAL_PARAMS and the other within PM_USER_PARAMS. Each parameter has a different function in the password expiration process and is further defined below.

Table: PM_GLOBAL_PARAMS

The new Global Parameter called PM_EXPIRED_PASSWORD must be added to the PM_GLOBAL_PARAMS table to define the password change interval. Once this parameter has been set the mandatory password change feature will be turned on. If this parameter is not added as a global parameter then passwords will never expire.

Highlights of global parameter PM_EXPIRED_PASSWORD

• Global Parameter PM_EXPIRED_PASSWORD
• Turns the feature on
• Defines password change interval
• Affects ALL users

Table: PM_USER_PARAMS

The new User Parameter, PM_EXPIRED_PASSWORD, is automatically added to the PM_USER_PARAMS table the first time a user successfully changes their expired password. When they change their password, the system will look to the PM_EXPIRED_PASSWORD parameter in the PM_GLOBAL_PARAMS table to see the change interval defined and then calculate the new expiration date to add to the user parameter.

Highlights of user parameter PM_EXPIRED_PASSWORD

• User Parameter PM_EXPIRED_PASSWORD
• Date password will expire for user
• Added by system when password changed 1st time
• Can be manually added / edited to a future date for user accounts don't want to expire

Prevent repeat password

JIRA Issue: CORE-300

Prevent users from using their current password as their new password when required to change it.

Highlights of New Feature

• No additional setup is needed
• New password can't be same as current password
• Warning message displayed if user enters same password

Enforce Complex Passwords

JIRA Issue: CORE-288

Passwords must meet complexity requirements defined by the i2b2 Administrator. The requirements will be enforced when users change their passwords. They are not enforced when the i2b2 Administrator first enters their password from within the i2b2 Admin Module.

Highlights of New Feature

• New global parameter
• i2b2 Administrator defines requirements for complexity
• Requirements are enforced when users change passwords
• User receives Warning message if new password doesn't meet requirements

New parameter

A new Global Parameter was created to support the Enforce Complex Passwords feature. The new parameter is set within PM_GLOBAL_PARAMS table and will define the password complexity requirements. Once the parameter has been entered the feature will be turned on and all users will be required to follow the new requirements the next time they change their password. The only exception is when the password is set by the i2b2 Administrator from within the i2b2 Admin Module.

Global Parameter: PM_COMPLEX_PASSWORD

Table: PM_GLOBAL_PARAMS

Complex Requirement Variables

Setting the parameter value for PM_COMPLEX_PASSWORD

• Each password requirement is defined as an independent variable.
• However, the variables are concatenated into a single string and stored in the VALUE column of the PM_GLOBAL_PARAMS table

The table shown below lists each of the variables and the associated requirement that will be enforced.

The requirements can be used in any combination.  For instance, if the passwords must be 8 characters and contain at least 1 lower case letter and 1 number then the parameter value will be:

(?=.*[0-9])(?=.*[a-z])(?=\S+$).{8,}

If all the requirements in the table were to be used, the following would be entered as the Parameter Value:

(?=.*[0-9])(?=.*[a-z])(?=.*[A-Z])(?=.*[!@#$%^&+=])(?=\S+$).{8,}

Query improvements

Two new features are included in the query improvements category.

1. SQL Query Breakdown
   • Custom breakdowns based on SQL query
   • 4 new breakdowns provided in the demo data as examples
2. Temporal Query made simple
   • New simple mode available
   • Streamlined

SQL Query Breakdowns

Standard demographic breakdowns have been available for a long time in the i2b2. For instance when running a query you can select a breakdown of the patients by their gender or race.

Users can now add custom breakdowns that have a SQL query built within it.  In release 1.7.10 the i2b2 demo data has been updated to include the following four new SQL query breakdowns 

1. Length of stay breakdown
2. Top 20 medications breakdown
3. Top 20 diagnoses breakdown
4. Inpatient and outpatient breakdown

1. QT_QUERY_RESULT_TYPE table
2. QT_BREAKDOWN_PATH table
3. CRCApplicationContext.xml file

New Additional Steps

1. Add SQL query into the QT_BREAKDOWN_PATH table
   • SQL statement goes into the VALUE column
2. Add the correct access level into QT_QUERY_RESULT_TYPE table
   • The role goes into USER_ROLE_CD column

SQL defined in QT_BREAKDOWN_PATH table

SELECT length_of_stay            AS patient_range,
   COUNT(DISTINCT a.PATIENT_num) AS patient_count
FROM visit_dimension a,
   DX b 
WHERE a.patient_num = b.patient_num
GROUP BY a.length_of_stay 
ORDER BY 1

Temporal Query made Simple

Running a temporal query in earlier versions of the i2b2 could be cumbersome and difficult to use. The way the screens were laid out would make it hard to remember population constraints, it was complicated, difficult to learn and hard to comprehend temporality.

In 1.7.10 temporal queries have been made simple by developing a Simple Temporal Query mode. This new mode has streamlined features; displays ordering of events and population constraint on same page.

Simple vs Advanced Mode

Simple does not support the following features

• Non-linear temporal sequences
• Multiple Panels
• Number Restrictions

Highlights of New Simple Temporal Query mode

Launching temporal query simple mode

Query Timing list has been updated; 

• Non-Temporal Query: Treat all groups independently
• Non-Temporal Query: Selected groups occur in the same financial encounter
• Temporal Query: Define sequence of Events 

Tutorial Available

As soon as you select Temporal Query: Define sequence of Events the simple temporal query mode will display. At this point you can either start the Tutorial or begin your query by dragging over an observation.

All events are on the same page page

• Add Hypertension into Observation A and Acute Myocardial Infarction into Observation B. 

Relationship Editor

• Can edit the relationships without leaving the page.
• Simply click on the text in between the two observations
• The Temporal Relationship window will open with the observations visible behind it

Easily Change Order of Observations

• Swapping position of Observations by dragging the panel

Adding population constraints (optional)

• Can add population constraints without leaving the page.
• Simply click on Show Constraining Population located at the bottom of the view
• The standard 3 panel query view will open on the bottom half where you can add your patient sets.

Switching to advanced mode

• Click on Switch to Advanced Temporal Query to change your mode and query into the old temporal query. 

Preserving query between switches

• Queries will be preserved when switching between simple and advanced. The only exception is when a query doesn't meet the simple criteria (i.e. multiple panels, non-linear temporal sequences, number restrictions)

Miscellaneous improvements

Single sign-on location for Web Client and Admin Module

JIRA Issue: WEBCLIENT-226

The i2b2 Admin module no longer needs to be setup on the i2b2 server and results in the following benefits.

• i2b2 Administrators will log in from the same location as the i2b2 Web Client.
• Easier installation and maintenance. Will only install the i2b2 Web Client.

To sign into the i2b2 Admin module, Administrators will go to the same location as their i2b2 Web Client and enter their login credentials.  Provided their user is setup as an Admin they will be able to select "Administrator" from the list of projects in the project dialog. The Administrator project will launch the Admin module.

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

Improve datasource validations

JIRA Issue: CORE-129

On certain occasions a database connection in a pool would go bad and the i2b2 would continue to use the connection which would cause errors in the i2b2. To resolve this problem database connections will now be validated and checked that the connection is valid. If a connection in the pool goes bad the i2b2 will not continue using it.

<validation> 
     <validate-on-match>true</validate-on-match> 
     <check-valid-connection-sql>SELECT 1 FROM DUAL</check-valid-connection-sql> 
     <use-fast-fail>true</use-fast-fail> 
 </validation>