Go.Data Implementation Considerations for Interoperability

1. Unique Identifiers:

Accurate and efficient unique identification of any data to be shared or referenced external is critical to interoperability. Before implementing Go.Data, you should spend time evaluating available unique identifier schemes and what options may already be implemented by related information systems. See the Unique Identifiers section for more on Go.Data identifier schemes and considerations.

2. Mandatory & Core Metadata:

Consider that Go.Data has a list of mandatory variables (see the Go.Data Metadata Summary on the CoP and p.41 of Implementation Guide) that must be specified in order to successfully import data into the system, as well as a list of core variables provided out-of-box. Implementers should consider leveraging available variables before configuring custom metadata, as many of these variables are referenced in Go.Data features and thereby offer enhanced reporting, if used.

3. Custom Metadata:

While Go.Data offers a set of core variables out-of-box, administrators may configure custom metadata to track variables specific to their implementation. Wherever new metadata is configured, including custom data elements and reports: (1) define standard naming conventions, (2) ensure naming consistency across the application (e.g., using both “dateOfBirth” and “birthDate” would be confusing & redundant), and (3) document meaningful descriptions to support external understanding and translation if data needs to be shared externally (read here for guidance).

4. Standards:

The inclusion of international eHealth standards strengthens interoperability and data sharing options for Go.Data implementations. Some standards are on the technical level (e.g. transmission methods), others on the contents side (e.g., WHO standard indicators). Aligning Go.Data implementations to these standards can incentivize data sharing and provide access to existing health systems.
→ See the Applying Data Standards section for more information.

5. API Access:

Go.Data exposes an Application Programming Interface (API) which is used for all interactions between the web front-end, the smartphone applications and even between copies of Go.Data, if you configure multiple instances of the solution to exchange data in an “upstream server/client application” model.

• If leveraging Go.Data’s default settings, the self-documenting description of the API methods can be viewed using Loopback Explorer by adding /explorer to the end of any Go.Data URL. See the API docs for more information on related configuration settings.
• Note that all users in Go.Data have a single “active” outbreak and this will be the one whose data is returned in subsequent calls using the authentication token received for the user. If you need to work across multiple outbreaks in your code, then you will either need to change users OR switch the active outbreak of the current user via an API call.