The Clinical Data Repository provides a central pool into which computer applications can store their data, and from which they can retrieve information placed there by other applications. Currently, CPMC data resides on an IBM mainframe. The relational database contains data for about 2 million patients spanning a period of 10 years, and occupies roughly 100 gigabytes of storage space.The Repository has been optimized for single patient queries to faciliate patient care acitivities. Queries that analyze data across many patients are supported by the Clinical Data Warehouse.
The Repository models each patient record as a collection of clinical events that are pertinent to the care of that patient. Each clinical event consists of general information about the activity (who performed it, what was performed, when did it happen, where did it happen. In addition, items of information specific to that event can be specified. Each item of information is defined in the Medical Entities Dictionary.