Operational Reporting and Analytics

Within DFCI, and at a state and federal level, the demand for data-driven care is growing exponentially. While the possibility for analytics infrastructure to support efficient, equitable, and high-quality care is exciting, incomplete or inconsistent implementation can create confusion and fatigue.

COBA is here to support any DFCI initiative that promotes data acquisition and analytics. This includes, but is not limited to, workflow optimization, reporting and visualization best practices, and software and business intelligence tools trainings (including Tableau^® and Confluence).

COBA’s workflow optimization service audits the user’s process from data entry to interpretation and presentation, to ensure that all processes are robust, efficient, and unbiased.

COBA facilitates data acquisition and definition of data structures, in partnership with other teams across Informatics and DFCI. The Enterprise Data Warehouse team and COBA have made joint efforts to link data from Peoplesoft, EPIC, Info-ed, OnCore, and more into integrated and easily queried views for DFCI users.

COBA routinely inventories the available data to understand which metrics are available in EPIC, DataSteward, EPSi, PeopleSoft, etc., and determine metrics that can be calculated by manipulating existing fields.

While both reports and dashboards present statistics, charts, and figures tailored to the needs of the user, they differ in their format. Reports are built as static PDFs and Excel spreadsheets, and are ideal for focused, single-use tasks with a shorter turnaround time.

Dashboards are a dynamic, interactive service, built in the intuitive but powerful business intelligence package Tableau^®. Dashboards are published to a server, where they are accessible by specified users from anywhere within the Dana-Farber network. They are equipped with customizable filters and drilling options that can be adjusted by the user and reconfigured by the department’s business steward, drawing from data sources that can be configured to update as frequently as once per night. 

Both dashboards and reports can be used to inform day-to-day operations, assist in the completion of internal and external reporting requirements, and evaluate the effectiveness of operational policy.

Note: This form is not for research. If this request is research-related or in any way involves IRB approval, this is NOT the correct form. Please view Research Data Requests.

You can use this form to request reports/dashboards and data for all your analytics requests.

Team support email: COBA_Support@dfci.harvard.edu
To initiate a new report/dashboard, please fill out: Request Operational Report, Dashboard

Team Support Email: COBA_Support@dfci.harvard.edu
To request access, please fill out: Access Request Form