5. Upload specification

Files can be uploaded to the PMHC MDS manually via the web interface at https://pmhc-mds.net/ or by using the API which is available at https://api.pmhc-mds.net/.

5.1. File requirements

Uploads will be rejected by our incoming data scanning system if they do not meet the following requirements:

Must be either an Excel Workbook (.xlsx),
OR a zip (.zip) file containing CSV files,
AND must be less than 512MB

5.1.1. Excel Workbook (XLSX)

Excel files must be in XLSX format. Excel 2007 (v12.0) and above support this file format.

One XLSX file must be uploaded containing multiple worksheets - one worksheet for each format described below.

When saving your file, please choose the filetype ‘Excel Workbook (.xlsx)’.

The filename of the Excel file doesn’t matter as long as it has the file extension .xlsx

5.1.2. Zip file containing Comma Separated Values (CSV)

The CSV files must conform to RFC 4180.

In addition, CSV files must be created using UTF-8 character encoding.

CSV files must have the file extension .csv

Multiple CSV files must be uploaded - one CSV file for each format described below.

The CSV files must be compressed into a single file by zipping before upload. The filename of the zip file doesn’t matter as long as it has the file extension .zip

5.1.3. File size

Files must be less than 512MB. The file size restriction prevents our systems from becoming unstable if extremely large files are uploaded. We will monitor if this limit causes issues for anyone and adjust it if necessary.

5.2. Files or worksheets to upload

All files must be internally consistent. An example of what this means is that for every YES PHN Instrument in an upload file, there must be a corresponding Survey in the Survey file/worksheet. It also means that for every row in the Survey file/worksheet, there must be a corresponding Organisation in the Organisations file/worksheet.

The following files/worksheets can be uploaded to the PMHC MDS:

Table 5.1 Summary of files to upload
File Type	CSV filename	Excel worksheet name	Required
YES PHN	yes-phn.csv	YES PHN Instruments	Required
Survey	surveys.csv	Surveys	Required
Organisations	organisations.csv	Organisations	Optional, may only be included if the user has Organisation Management Role
Metadata	metadata.csv	Metadata	Required

5.3. File format

Requirements for file formats:

The first row must contain the column headings as defined for each file type.
Data elements for each file/worksheet are defined at Record formats.
Each item is a column in the file/worksheet. The ‘Field Name’ as defined in Record formats must be used for the column headings. The columns must be kept in the same order.
The second and subsequent rows must contain the data.
All files must be internally consistent. An example of what this means is that for every row in the episode file/worksheet, there must be a corresponding client in the client file/worksheet.
For data elements that allow multiple values, each value should be separated by a space; for example: 1 3 6.
All data uploads must include a Metadata file/worksheet. See Metadata file.

5.3.1. Metadata file

All uploads must include a Metadata file/worksheet.

In the first row, the first cell must contain ‘key’ and the second cell must contain ‘value’
In the second row, the first cell must contain ‘type’ and the second cell must contain ‘YES-PHN’
In the third row, the first cell must contain ‘version’ and the second cell must contain ‘1.0’

i.e.:

Table 5.2 Metadata file
key	value
type	SURVEY
version	1.0

Data elements for the metadata upload file/worksheet are defined at Metadata.

Example Metadata files can be found at Example Upload files.

5.3.2. Organisation file format

This file is for PHN use only. The organisation file/worksheet is optional. It can be included to upload Provider Organisations in bulk or if there is a change in Provider Organisation details. There is no harm in including it in every upload.

Data elements for the Provider Organisation upload file/worksheet are defined at Provider Organisation.

Example Organisation files can be found in any of the example files at Example Upload files.

5.3.3. Survey file format

The Survey file/worksheet is required to be uploaded each time.

Data elements for the Survey upload file/worksheet are defined at Survey.

Example Survey files can be found in any of the example files at Example Upload files.

5.3.4. YES PHN file format

The YES PHN file/worksheet is required to be uploaded each time.

Data elements for the YES PHN upload file/worksheet are defined at YES PHN.

Example YES PHN files can be found in any of the example files at Example Upload files.

5.4. Deleting records

All records except for Organisation records can be deleted via upload. Please email support@pmhc-mds.com if you need to delete an organisation.

An extra optional “delete” column can be added to each of the supported upload files/worksheets.
If included, this column must be the third column in each file, after the organisation path and the record’s entity key.
To delete a record, include its organisation path and its entity key, leave all other fields blank and put “delete” in the “delete” column. Please note that case is important. “DELETE” will not be accepted.
Marking a record as deleted will require all child records of that record also to be marked for deletion. For example, marking a survey as deleted will require all YES PHN records associated with that survey to be marked for deletion.
While deletions can be included in the same upload as insertions/updates, we recommend that you include all deletions in a separate upload that is uploaded before the insertions/updates.

Example files showing how to delete records can be found the example files at Example Upload files.

5.5. Example Upload files

Each of the example files assumes the following organisation structure:

Organisation Key	Organisation Name	Organisation Type	Parent Organisation
PHN999	Test PHN	Primary Health Network	None
PHN999:NFP01	Example Treatment Organisation	Private Allied Health Professional Practice	PHN999
PHN999:NFP02	Example Treatment Organisation	Private Allied Health Professional Practice	PHN999

Table 5.3 Summary of example upload files
Context	CSV zip	XLSX
Addition/Update of data	PMHC-MDS-Survey-1-0.zip	PMHC-MDS-Survey-1-0.xlsx
Deletion of data	PMHC-MDS-Survey-1-0-delete.zip	PMHC-MDS-Survey-1-0-delete.xlsx

5.6. Frequently Asked Questions

Please also refer to Uploading data for answers to frequently asked questions about uploading data.