5.1 Encrypted Data
Data in the observation_blob field of the OBSERVATION_FACT table can be encrypted , using any method that is desired. (The blob field is not used by the core software and can be used in application-specific ways.) The legacy i2b2 workbench contains an encryption/decryption implementation using AES. It is available here:
https://community.i2b2.org/wiki/display/WB/Workbench+Software
Also, site-specific identifiers are often encrypted in the PATIENT_MAPPING table. The legacy Identity Management (IM) cell also provides an AES implementation to encrypt and decrypt these identifiers through an i2b2 API. More information can be found here:
5.2 Multiple Fact Tables
Starting with release 1.7.09, the i2b2 software supports multiple fact tables. This enables, for example, diagnoses to be stored in one fact table, laboratory tests in a second fact table, and clinical notes in a third. This might be helpful to simplify data updates or for performance reasons in large databases. Details of how to configure i2b2 to use multiple fact tables is at
https://community.i2b2.org/wiki/display/MFT/Multi-fact+Table+Home?preview=%2F339480%2F339493%2Fmultifact-setup-guide.pdf
5.3 Working with OMOP Data
The Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) CDM is another widely adopted data model. Rather than a central fact table, the OMOP CDM uses separate tables for each data domain: procedures, condition, drug, measurement, observation, etc. The multiple fact table feature in i2b2 can be used to treat each OMOP table as a separate fact table, enabling i2b2 to run the OMOP CDM with the appropriate i2b2 ontology configuration. A description of this is at
https://community.i2b2.org/wiki/display/OMOP/OMOP+Home
5.4 Loading Data into the i2b2 CDM
The i2b2 tranSMART Foundation ETL Working Group has assembled a set of resources, including documentation and software, to assist in loading data into i2b2, which is at
https://community.i2b2.org/wiki/display/IWG/ETL+Working+Group
