Security
Vitalware implements a comprehensive security model which controls access to information at the system, module, tab, record and field level. It also controls access to processes, reports, certificates, printers and stock. Vitalware's security system is completely configurable on site.
Vitalware requires the user to enter a User Id and password upon commencement. These are authenticated using the server operating system's user security facilities. On successful start-up, Vitalware automatically determines the modules that a user can access. On accessing a module, Vitalware automatically determines which aspects of the module and which processes relating to the module the user can use and presents the module appropriately.
The security profile for a user is managed by the Vitalware administrator through the Vitalware application itself. This administrator can set all privileges related to a user or group of users.
Audit Trails
All operations performed on records in Vitalware can be fully audited. These operations include insertion, editing, deletion, querying and viewing. Auditing information includes the date, time, username, operation type, record type and key number for all database actions. Additionally, the audit trail can record new and/or modified data.
Reliability
Vitalware can perform real time mirroring of all critical databases and transactions to a backup server. Users may quickly switch to the backup server in the event of hardware or operating system failure on the production server. Development, test, training and production environments are also maintained in parallel to provide a controlled development cycle in a simulated production environment.
Integrated Multimedia Support
Vitalware has fully integrated multimedia facilities with support for a broad range of image and other formats such as video, audio, word processing documents and spreadsheets. Multimedia can be associated with any life event or management record. Full text searching of documents saved as multimedia attachments is supported.
For historic records, the actual registration record can be scanned into Vitalware and associated with a simple index record of the event. This enables online digital reproduction of these original registrations in response to product requests. In this situation, imaging may obviate the need for total keyed back-capture of these registrations.
For contemporary events, hardcopy documents associated with a registration (e.g. paper-based registration form from parents) can be scanned directly into Vitalware and associated with that registration. Hardcopy applications for certificates can also be scanned and associated with the point-of-service record to which they pertain, enabling a Registry to operate in a "paper-less" way.
While audio and video are rarely used in a Registry context today, the capability exists within Vitalware for the Registry to attach, for example, customer-supplied multimedia data to a Life Event record for preservation by the Registry.
Reports
Vitalware is packaged with a suite of financial and management reports and provides the means to create customised reports using tools such as Crystal Reports, Microsoft Word and Excel.
The reporting system also supports the export of data in a range of formats, including tab and comma delimited and XML (eXtensible Markup Language).
A sophisticated report scheduler facilitates automated production of reports at specified intervals, e.g. daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly and annually.
To facilitate the smooth day to day maintenance of the system a number of reports are generated automatically by Vitalware. The system administrator can have these reports emailed or saved as files on a daily basis.
Each night the system creates a document containing a list of all activities overdue by the current date, for example, unmatched birth notifications possibly requiring automatic generation of reminder notices to parents. Each of the scheduled activity reports is generated separately allowing each report to be emailed or saved as a file.
Additional Features
Vitalware incorporates a range of additional features for the efficient management of a Registry, including:
- Extensive built-in workflow management capabilities, enabling an organisation to define its various processes and assign steps in each process to individual staff members. This workflow management system includes an email notification system to alert users of pending and overdue tasks assigned to them.
- Rapid online querying of record data and indexes via any combination of attributes on tables comprising many millions of records.
- Support for batch loading of data captured by third parties, such as data keying agencies.
- Integrated venue booking subsystem suitable for scheduling marriages and other events at one or more venues managed by the Registry. On completion of the ceremony, details from the booking can be transferred automatically to the marriage registrations table to commence the registration process.
- Built-in configuration, administration and maintenance facilities.
- Interfaces with credit card processing systems.
- Imports MICAR IDC10 cause of death data.
- For United States Registries:
- Supports all National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) codes/fields, including 2003 revisions.
- Exports birth and death data to Social Security Administration (SSA).
- For Canadian Registries:
- Provides real-time verifications for, and data transfers to and from, privileged partners via the National Routing System (NRS).
The NRS is a Canadian infrastructure that allows partners to exchange information electronically with each other. The principal partners of the NRS are the Vital Statistics Agencies (VSAs) who share identity information with provincial and federal departments and agencies. - Vitalware has an integrated NRS component that provides the recommended NRS functionality for both notifications and verifications. It uses Cleo's VLTrader software for the transfer mechanism of sending and receiving messages between NRS partners. Cleo's VLTrader is on the NRS approved Drummond certified list of electronic business XML (ebXML) software packages.
- Provides real-time verifications for, and data transfers to and from, privileged partners via the National Routing System (NRS).