A "data engine" using SAS and INQUIRE

The data base management structure described in this paper combines the features of on-line accessibility and multiple-record management of INQUIRE, a software product of the Infodata Corporation, with the off-line efficiency of SAS, the Statistical Analysis System vended by the SAS Institute. The design process advocated herein involves the consolidation of information throughout the clinic setting into a set of single-entry source documents whereby each datum is collected only once, except for key identifiers, and a system allocation to real-time processing only for those data elements required for immediate access by users. Other data are processed in batch and stored off line but are catalogued in an on-line INDEX as part of the INQUIRE structure. The resultant software product is referred to as a "data engine," which has the capability of low-cost efficiency, being run entirely in batch, but allows growth to full on-line services, and is designed to function as the control node of a network.