Creating synergy by integrating SAS and Lotus Notes

Transcription

1 Creating synergy by integrating SAS and Lotus Notes Erwin van Dongen & Han Tanis SAS European User Group International June 2000, Dublin

2 Agenda! Introduction! Lotus Notes as intranet framework! Starting a SAS-program in Lotus Notes! Lotus and SAS! SAS and Lotus Notes via ODBC! Conclusion

3 Introduction! OZ health insurance! Head office in Breda, South-West of the Netherlands! > enrolees! annual turnover: 1.4 billion Dutch guilders (0.64 billion Euro)! SAS for datawarehousing and reporting

4 Introduction " Lotus Notes! Known for and calendar! Web server: Lotus Domino! For OZ Lotus is an important middleware tool: between web client - mainframe between web client - SAS datawarehouse

5 Introduction # OZ intranet example A1 A2 A3 Storing SAS-output in a NOTES-database Generate a report in MS Word with SAS ing this document with SAS Pharmaceutical Quality Groups B Accessing a SASdataset in Notes via ODBC OZ-online

6 Intranet framework! Why using Lotus Notes?! Need for automation of periodical reports! SAS is excellent for reporting on the web: html, java-applets, active-x! Storing web pages in Notes: access control maintenance using existing infrastructure for intranet

7 Intranet framework " How it can be done! Define the structure of the intranet in a Lotus Notes application! Create HTML and other files with SAS (ODS in version 8 is far more easy then the HTML-macro s in version 6)! Use a data null step to put the created files in a Notes Database! Notes.ini and Notes.exe in search path

8 Intranet framework # SAS NotesDB engine FILENAME sasintra NOTESDB; Specify filename DATA _NULL_; FILE sasintra; PUT '!NSF_DB! d:\seugi\sasintra.nsf'; PUT "!NSF_ATTACH! d:\seugi\output\graf.htm"; PUT '!NSF_FORM! VERS00'; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!Titel!SEUGI Graph"; PUT '!NSF_FIELD!Status!Publiceren'; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!Jaar!2000"; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!Onderwerp!SEUGI"; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!Soort!Huisartshulp"; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!Subonderwerp!SEUGI"; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!Zorgverlener!SEUGI"; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!DocCode!SEUGI"; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!RapportUrl!/intranet/sasintra.nsf/ DbCode/SEUGI/$file/graf.htm?OpenElement"; RUN; Notes Database SAS output Notes form Notes fields

9 Intranet framework $ SAS NotesDB engine DEMO

10 Calling SAS programs! Starting SAS in Lotus Notes! Lotus Notes can call a SAS program with certain parameters! Lotus Notes waits for SAS-output by means of an agent! OZ uses this on the extranet for splitting billing files in two files: one with correct data (for the mainframe) and one with incorrect data

11 Calling SAS programs " How it can be done Sub Initialize Dim WEBSession As New NotesSession Dim Document As NotesDocument Set Document = WEBSession.DocumentContext SAS program Parameters$ = "-SYSIN d:\seugi\applicatie.sas -INITSTMT '%let a="& Right$( Document.QUERY_STRING( 0 ), 1 ) & ";'" RunStatus = Shell( "C:\SAS\SAS.EXE " & Parameters$ ) Macro var. If Not ( RunStatus = 33 ) Then Print "Can't start SAS-program." Else Print "The SAS-program is started." End If End Sub SAS.EXE

12 Calling SAS programs # How it can be done DEMO

13 Lotus Notes mail! Mailing SAS-output automatically! Distributing SAS-output by ! Internal and external end users! Periodically standard reports generated in batch (output mostly in MS Excel or ASCII format)

14 Lotus Notes mail " How it can be done! Adjust config.sas: SYS VIM ID "your ID" PW your password! Notes.ini and Notes.exe in search path! Use a data null step to generated output

15 Lotus Notes mail # How it can be done Specify filename FILENAME mymail "Han Tanis/I en A/OZNotes" SUBJECT="Insurees at date &SYSDATE" ATTACH ="g:\users\dongen_e\seugi2.sd2"; DATA _NULL_; FILE mymail; PUT 'Dear Han,'; PUT ' '; PUT 'Hereby I send you the dataset with the current insured persons.'; PUT ' '; PUT 'Kind regards,'; PUT ' '; PUT ' '; PUT 'Erwin'; RUN; Subject Attachment Put statements

16 Connection by ODBC! Accessing SAS datasets in Lotus Notes! Reading SAS data by ODBC! SAS base is enough! OZ application: health care providers can check if someone is insured via the extranet in the near future part of the workflow management system (for example acceptation procedure)

17 Connection by ODBC " How it can be done! Add the SAS ODBC driver to the ODBC Data Source Administrator (in control panel Windows NT)! Configure the SAS ODBC driver! Use the TCP/IP protocol (not DDE)! Adjust the services file! Run a proc ODBCSERV

18 Connection by ODBC # How it can be done DEMO

19 Conclusion! Using strong sides of both software packages adds value! Less paper by means of an intranet that is under control! High level of automation is possible! Gaining access to SAS-data in a simple and reliable way

20 Creating synergy by integrating SAS! and Lotus Notes! Erwin van Dongen & Han Tanis OZ Health Insurance Breda, The Netherlands Abstract Many organisations use both SAS and Lotus Notes. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the possibilities of integrating SAS and Lotus Notes. By presenting solutions developed by OZ Health Insurance, we will demonstrate how SAS and Lotus Notes have been integrated in order to benefit our organisation. First of all, Lotus Notes provides an excellent framework for intranet. OZ uses this framework to distribute (management) information in a structured and automated way. Reports are created with SAS on a regular basis, resulting in HTML files or other file formats. These files are added to a Lotus database using the SAS NotesDB access engine and are published on the intranet. Secondly, Lotus Notes mail is used to automatically distribute reports created in SAS. For example, contracted health care providers regularly receive a list of recently insured persons in an attached Excel file. Thirdly, Lotus Notes can start a SAS session with specific parameters which are dependent on the input. OZ has improved the billing process dramatically by using this facility. Finally, we have built an application to check if someone is insured. This application uses both the SAS ODBC server and Lotus Script. Introduction SAS software provides users with important facilities for integration with Lotus Notes, making it possible to use the strengths of both software packages. Using four examples, we will demonstrate how the integration can be realised technically. We will also go into the business applications at OZ. We assume the use of the Windows NT, 95 or 98 operating system in this paper. 1. Lotus Notes as a framework for intranet In version 8 it is very easy to create web pages using SAS. It is more difficult to automatically publish this output in a structured way on an intranet for example. When using a Lotus Notes server and aiming to publish static web pages, a Notes document can be created using the NotesDB access engine. The HTML page can then be attached. Generated HTML pages can be made available in a structured way through an intranet. Example: Publishing static reports on the intranet Imagine that we have a data set with the amount of medicine prescribed by several doctors, sorted by kind of medicine. We want to publish this in table form and in a graph through an intranet. The graph is created by the following code: 1

21 goptions device=gif transparency; /* Set the proper goptions */ filename odsout "d:\seugi"; /* Set the output destination */ ods html body='graf.htm' /* Name the output file (NOTES requires.htm as extension) */ base=' /* Set the path where the WEB server can find the GIF-file ( /sas equals d:\) */ path=odsout newfile=output; /* Create the chart */ PROC GCHART DATA = seugi.graf_bio; TITLE "SEUGI Graph"; label mdwha2='doctor' dddst_g='prescribed amount' abio='item'; VBAR3D mdwha2 / FRAME SUMVAR = dddst_g SUBGROUP = abio MAXIS = axis1 AXIS = axis2 RAXIS = 0 to 5000 by 1000 LEGEND = LEGEND1 PATTERNID = SUBGROUP G100 DISCRETE AUTOREF CLIPREF SUM; RUN; QUIT; ods html close; /* close the output destination */ The following commands can be used to create two new Notes documents and to store them in a Notes database. The HTML pages with the graph and the table that were generated are attached to these documents. FILENAME sasintra NOTESDB; DATA _NULL_; FILE sasintra; PUT '!NSF_DB! d:\seugi\sasintra.nsf'; PUT "!NSF_ATTACH! d:\seugi\output\graf.htm"; PUT '!NSF_FORM! VERS00'; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!Titel!SEUGI Graph"; PUT '!NSF_FIELD!Status!Publiceren'; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!Jaar!2000"; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!Onderwerp!SEUGI"; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!Soort!Huisartshulp"; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!Subonderwerp!SEUGI"; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!Zorgverlener!SEUGI"; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!DocCode!SEUGI"; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!RapportUrl!/intranet/sasintra.nsf/DbCode/SEUGI/$file/graf.htm?OpenElement"; RUN; DATA _NULL_; FILE sasintra; PUT '!NSF_DB! d:\seugi\sasintra.nsf'; PUT "!NSF_ATTACH! d:\seugi\output\table.htm"; PUT '!NSF_FORM! VERS00'; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!Titel!SEUGI Table"; PUT '!NSF_FIELD!Status!Publiceren'; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!Jaar!2000"; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!Onderwerp!SEUGI"; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!Soort!Huisartshulp"; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!Subonderwerp!SEUGI"; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!Zorgverlener!SEUGI"; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!DocCode!SEUGI2"; PUT "!NSF_FIELD!RapportUrl!/intranet/sasintra.nsf/DbCode/SEUGI2/$file/table.htm?OpenElement"; RUN; First a file name reference is created which specifies that the NotesDB access engine is to be used. Then, the data is written to this file. The Notes database that is to be opened is specified. Then the HTML file that is to be attached is indicated. In this example, we use a predetermined Notes form (VERS00). Finally, the fields that belong to this form are filled in. It is important to note that the DocCode must be unique and must be specified in the RapportUrl. 2

22 The result is as follows: Requirements To use the NotesDB access engine it is necessary to specify the directory in which the notes.ini and the notes.exe are found in your search path. This can be done in the control panel system. Go to environment and add a user variable path with a value equal to the system variable path plus the extra directories. For example (for Windows NT) C:\WINNT\system32;C:\WINNT;k:\notes\data;c:\notes. See for more information Walker, OZ application The last few years OZ has used Lotus Notes as a framework for publishing management information on our intranet. Mainframe extracts are periodically generated and processed into denormalised data sets within the data warehouse. The data sets are the source of overviews that are generated by scheduled jobs and automatically published on our intranet. 2. Using Lotus Notes to SAS Information in the data warehouse that is regularly requested by users, can be automatically distributed through in and outside the organisation. In this way, a lot of paper can be avoided and the distribution simplified. Likewise, electronic filing takes place automatically. Example: sending from the DATA Step Imagine that there is a data set insured persons which includes updates. This data, with associated text, can be sent to the pharmacy clearing-house for example. The following data set is used: libname seugi 'd:\seugi'; data seugi.seugi; input nr 1-1 naam $ 3-18 adres $ woonplts $ 41-60; cards; 1 Erwin van Dongen Bessie Smithstraat 13 Rotterdam 2 Han Tanis Geldelozepad 76 Dordrecht 3 Piet Jansen Dorpstraat 10 Breda 4 Henk Pietersen Grote weg 89 Hendrik Ido Ambacht 5 Jacqo Bos Langstraat 127 Middelburg ; run; 3

23 This data set can be sent through as follows: FILENAME mymail "Han Tanis/I en A/OZNotes" SUBJECT="Insurees at date &SYSDATE" ATTACH ="g:\users\dongen_e\seugi2.sd2"; DATA _NULL_; FILE mymail; PUT 'Dear Han,'; PUT ' '; PUT 'Hereby I send you the dataset with the current insured persons.'; PUT ' '; PUT 'Kind regards,'; PUT ' '; PUT ' '; PUT 'Erwin'; RUN; Requirements When using Lotus Notes as your facility the same requirements apply as mentioned earlier. Beside those options on the operating system de following statements must be added to your config.sas. " SYS VIM " ID "your ID" " PW your password The first option depends on what you are using for sending (for Lotus Notes VIM is the correct setting). See the SAS companion for the Microsoft Windows Environment for more on this subject. OZ application There are many reports that are periodically sent from SAS. Many users receive information weekly or monthly by . Usually it is SAS output that is attached to the . Other users receive Excel-files that are filled in by SAS so that they can further develop the spreadsheet. Finally, files are distributed weekly to external parties by . These files contain information on persons who have started or cancelled their insurance that week. This information is organised in such a way that the receiver can automatically process this information in his or her system. 3. Connecting SAS and Lotus Notes through ODBC If the intranet (or internet) environment consists of several Notes databases, then it is possible to have them communicate with SAS through a OBDC connection. Applications can be created in this way which use a SAS data set that is accessed by Lotus Notes through ODBC. Example: reading a SAS Data set using ODBC This is illustrated by the situation in which an insured person s policy number is filled in the HTML page and his name and address appear. In this example the SAS data set seugi.seugi from the previous section is used. In order to access this SAS data a PROC ODBC has to be run. By creating an ODBC data source which uses the SAS ODBC driver, SAS and the PROC ODBC can be automatically started when called (through the macro %SASODBC). See for more information the SAS users Guide and Programming Reference. The SAS data can be accessed in Lotus Notes using Lotus Script through ODBC. The following Lotus Script code is used: 4

24 Sub Initialize ' Used objects Dim WEBSession As New NotesSession Dim WEBDocument As NotesDocument Dim SASConnection As New ODBCConnection /* Define the connection object */ Dim Query As New ODBCQuery /* Define the query object */ Dim SASResult As New ODBCResultSet /* Define the result object */ Dim SQLStatement As String ' Initialize Set WEBDocument = WEBSession.DocumentContext WEBDocument.Message = "" WEBDocument.Name = "" /* Define the SQL statement. Test is the defined libname in the ODBC data source. Seugi is the name of the dataset and nr is the name of the varaiable in the SAS-dataset that is used for the search (an index is recommended when using large datasets). KeyNumber is the name of the variable defined in the Web-page. */ SQLStatement$ = "SELECT * FROM test.seugi WHERE NR = '" & WEBDocument.KeyNumber( 0 ) & "'" ' Connect to SAS If Not SASConnection.ConnectTo( "sasodbc" ) Then /* If there is no connection then give a message and quit. */ WEBDocument.Message = "No connection..." Goto ReturnToUser End If Set Query.Connection = SASConnection /* Do the actual search */ Query.SQL = SQLStatement$ Set SASResult.Query = Query Call SASResult.Execute ' Show the result to the user If SASResult.IsResultSetAvailable Then /* Retrieve the results of the query. */ SASResult.NextRow tmp = SASResult.GetValue( 2) WEBDocument.Name = tmp tmp = SASResult.GetValue( 3) WEBDocument.Address = tmp tmp = SASResult.GetValue( 4) WEBDocument.City = tmp Else WEBDocument.Message = "No record found..." End If ' Disconnect from SAS Call SASResult.Close Call SASConnection.Disconnect ' Save the Notes-document and return to the user ReturnToUser: Call WEBDocument.Save( True, True ) Print "[/seugi/sasinquiry.nsf/dbluid/" & WEBDocument.universalID & "?EditDocument]" /* Show de WEB-page with the result of the query. */ End Sub De Web pages belonging to this example appear as follows: 5

25 OZ application OZ uses this functionality when health care providers consult the insured persons file. The health care providers can check if the insured person is entitled to the health care. Furthermore, it is important that his billing file contains the correct data to avoid that it will be automatically rejected by OZ. In addition to the possibility of checking if a policy number is correct, advanced search keys are provided to find the correct number. Momentarily, it is possible to search on the basis of name/birth date, zip code/house number/birth date, and for hospitals their own patient number. Performance is good for all search keys because indexes are used. 4. Calling SAS programs in Lotus Notes There is the possibility of letting Lotus Notes run a SAS program. This is a helpful tool for SAS programs in batch that many users are able to request without outside help. They are able to specify certain parameters, according to their own information needs. Users are thus able to activate SAS programs easily (with a browser) using parameters they specify themselves. The results can be shown on the intranet. Example: running a SAS-program with parameters from Lotus Notes In this example, a SAS data set, with the insured person s number and the amount he has declared, is used. The SAS program calculates the total amount that has been declared by the insured person that has been specified. The output consists of a file with the name and address of the insured person and the amount that he or she wants refunded. The following Lotus Script calls the SAS program. Sub Initialize ' ============================================= ' Start a SAS-program. ' ============================================= Dim WEBSession As New NotesSession Dim Document As NotesDocument Set Document = WEBSession.DocumentContext Parameters$ = "-SYSIN d:\seugi\applicatie.sas -INITSTMT '%let a=" & Right$( Document.QUERY_STRING( 0 ), 1 ) & ";'" RunStatus = Shell( "C:\SAS\SAS.EXE " & Parameters$ ) If Not ( RunStatus = 33 ) Then Print "Can't start SAS-program." Else Print "The SAS-program is started." End If End Sub With the Shell-command SAS can be started. By entering the program-name in the SYSIN option en the %LET-statement in the INITSTMT option (which may contain any SAS-code to be run before the program) the program will run and the macrovariable &a is defined correctly. 6

26 The following SAS program executes the tasks described above. The macro &a is the variable that is provided when the program is started and provides the policy number of the insured person whose data we want to access. libname seugi 'd:\seugi'; proc summary data=seugi.seugi2 (where=(nr eq &a)) nway; class nr; var bedrag; output out=hlp (drop=_type freq_) sum=; run; data hlp; merge hlp seugi.seugi; by nr; run; filename txtout 'd:\seugi\output.txt'; data _null_; set hlp; file txtout; put 'Summary of payed amounts' /; put naam; put adres; put woonplaats; put 'Payed bedrag; run; The text file that is created by this program is collected by a Lotus Notes agent (macro) and published in HTML-format. OZ Application A large number of health care bills are paid through external integration. These files are uploaded by health care providers (through internet/extranet). The file is checked by SAS to see if it corresponds to the accompanying information that is filled in during uploading. The billing file is then split into two files, one with correct data on insured persons and the other with incorrect data. A processing report is generated on the file with incorrect information. This report and the incorrect bills are published on the extranet or internet through Lotus Notes. The health care provider receives feedback on his bill within an hour. He can immediately download the incorrect bills to correct them. Conclusion We feel that combining the facilities of SAS and Lotus Notes offers the possibility of solving many business problems in a simple way. Storing output in a Notes database, that is accessible through intranet, extranet and internet, and mailing specific output to a user leads to less paper and automatic digital filing. Furthermore, accessing SAS data sets through ODBC offers the possibility of central storage that can be accessed through the intranet. Finally, running SAS programs from a Lotus Notes environment, in which a number of parameters are specified, is a good solution when batch programs have to be accessible to many users. 7

27 References Walker, Jamie (1997) Integrating Lotus Notes! with the SAS! system, SAS institute Incorporated SAS companion for the Microsoft Windows Environment, SAS OnlineDoc V8, SAS institute Incorporated SAS users Guide and Programming Reference, SAS OnlineDoc V8, SAS institute Incorporated 8