Advanced Query by Example Overview
Introduction
Query by Example (QBE) applies a filter to list content. Because Worklists such as the All Studies Worklist can contain millions of records, certain combinations of QBE filters can take a significant amount of time to calculate results. The Advanced QBE feature lets you use a combination of filters and operators to refine your search.
Advanced QBE is restricted to access of Synapse data by the Synapse workstation. It does not include a non-Synapse datasource or non-workstation access (for example, DICOM Query/Retrieve).
For each text, numeric, and date column that supports QBE, Synapse provides an editable field into which you can enter a text string, numeric value, or date range. You can enter text strings in multiple columns.
If the following fields are supported at your site, use any of them to search for and display non-DICOM patient level folders in the patient search list of filtered results:
Gender, Date of Birth, Referring Physician, Visit Number, and Ordering Dept.
Multiple Operations
The data that you enter into a QBE field can specify multiple operations joined by binary operations. Synapse supports:
- Operators that allow multiple operations for a single QBE field
- A special character to link operations together using a logical AND operation
- A special character to link operations together using a logical OR operation
Using Underscores and Percent Characters
The percent (%) character is invalid for Advanced QBE and standard (non-Advanced QBE) fields.
The underscore (_) character is a valid character for Advanced QBE fields, but cannot be used in Standard (non-Advanced QBE) fields.
Empty (Null) Value Evaluation
Stored data includes empty (or null) values, for fields where there is no required content, and for which no data has been received. When evaluating such data for Advanced QBE operations, Synapse follows specific rules for handling empty values:
- Will not match items with empty values when performing a QBE operation. For example, if you enter ABC as a location for QBE, the results will only contain appropriately matched items, and no items where the location is empty (null)
- Will return items with empty values when performing a not QBE operation. For example, if you enter not ABC as a location for QBE, the results will contain appropriately matched items, and items where the location is empty (null)
Related Topics
Numeric QBE Operators and Examples