I'm in charge of setting up a patient register (100K+ patients) for a non-profit project with little money. This register should provide the basis for later datascience. I'm not sure how a good database solution can work the long run. It must be possible for various clinics to enter the data manually into the system. Since I have experience with Django I have developed a webapp prototype with Django and an SQLite DB (it is not expected that many users access the database at the same time). But I'm not sure what kind of database would be a good a good choice in the long run. The biggest problem is that a self-made solution may be beautiful for the moment but it binds the project to me and thus puts it in danger in the long run (the typical doctor doesn't know much about programming). My question is basically about experiences of you experienced datascientists like you for suitable databases and solutions.
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$\begingroup$ Other than the requirement that the data is usable for later data science, this is more of a general development question. If you split this up into questions about making a system suitable for later data science, and find another site for asking about how to best develop and hand over a solo project, that may help. $\endgroup$– Neil SlaterAug 22, 2018 at 17:53
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$\begingroup$ I don't think the technology choice is a big deal for data science use - any standard db server technology will allow queries and integrated tools. However, which data is collected, what the known goals are (any specific predictive models you want to target?), and possibly other details of the project could be relevant. I think you will need to get specific about your project goals and the technical details your solution so far (e.g. relevant parts of the schema), if you want an answer that can help you spot possible flaws in the design or avoid common pitfalls. $\endgroup$– Neil SlaterAug 22, 2018 at 17:54
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$\begingroup$ OK thank you for your feedback. It is not easy to find the right place for the question or to break it down into meaningful questions. Thanks for your time, though. $\endgroup$– GurkenkönigAug 22, 2018 at 18:22
1 Answer
One option is to use Google Sheets with a lot of cell value validation.
Since Google Sheets is something most people are already familiar with, it is relatively easy for most people to understand, use, and maintain.