Data Management for Utah County Health Department

The primary goal of this project is to enhance data integrity and usability within healthcare-related services by:

  • Integrating and structuring data from multiple sources.
  • Identifying unmatched and duplicate records for review and validation.
  • Facilitating nurse assignment tracking to optimize service distribution.
  • Providing analytics and reporting tools for insightful decision-making.
  • Ensuring data security and compliance with encryption measures.

Core Features

1. Data Integration and Validation

The system consolidates healthcare records from different sources, resolving inconsistencies and ensuring that data remains reliable. The process includes:

  • Standardizing formats across datasets.
  • Identifying missing or conflicting entries.
  • Handling duplicate and unmatched data in a dedicated review system.

2. Nurse Assignment Management

A key functionality of the project is tracking and assigning nurses efficiently, ensuring that patients receive proper care. Features include:

  • Assignment tracking: Viewing assigned and unassigned cases.
  • Batch nurse assignment: Assigning healthcare professionals based on location and availability.
  • Real-time updates: Reflecting changes immediately in the system.

3. Dynamic Reporting & Data Visualization

The project includes a robust reporting module that provides meaningful insights into:

  • Children per town and regional distribution.
  • Unassigned children requiring attention.
  • Average age of patients, with youngest and oldest records highlighted.
  • Total nurses assigned and children assigned to nurses.
  • Percentage breakdown of assigned vs. unassigned patients.

4. Duplicate and Unmatched Data Review

Rather than discarding duplicates, the system isolates them for manual verification. This ensures that:

  • Potentially important records are not lost.
  • Users can review duplicates in a separate window.
  • A dedicated CSV file logs duplicate entries for auditing purposes.

5. Security & Encryption

Given the sensitivity of the data, security is a top priority. The system implements:

  • End-to-end encryption for stored files.
  • Secure access controls to prevent unauthorized modifications.
  • Automated encryption of combined datasets upon closure.

Technical Implementation

The project follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture, ensuring modularity, scalability, and maintainability. The key technologies involved include:

  • Python with Pandas & Tkinter for data processing and UI development.
  • Excel integration for structured data storage and retrieval.
  • Fernet encryption for securing sensitive files.
  • Logging mechanisms for debugging and tracking system activity.

Challenges & Solutions

Challenge 1: Handling Duplicate and Unmatched Data

Solution: Instead of removing duplicates automatically, the system flags them for manual review, allowing validation before making final changes.

Challenge 2: Ensuring Real-Time Data Updates

Solution: The system dynamically refreshes the UI whenever nurse assignments are updated, ensuring that all stakeholders work with the latest information.

Challenge 3: Secure Data Handling

Solution: The encryption module secures all critical files before closing the application, preventing unauthorized access or data leaks.

Next Steps

Moving forward, I plan to:

  • Enhance search and filtering options for easier data navigation.
  • Optimize performance to handle larger datasets more efficiently.
  • Integrate additional analytics tools for deeper insights.
  • Improve the user interface for an even smoother experience.