Sanità
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8 min

Data Automation and a Central Database for a Local Health Authority

-60%
Manual data entry
Sharp reduction in the time spent updating files
-90%
Data inconsistencies
Information silos eliminated thanks to the central database
100%
Real-time
Instant access to historical and summary reports on tenders
Context

Data on regional procurement tenders was managed through a myriad of disconnected Excel files. This approach created a heavy load of manual, repetitive work for staff in the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices teams. Without a single relational database, there was a constant risk of transcription errors and duplicated information (data silos), and hours of work were spent simply consolidating the reports needed for decision-making. The business goal was clear: standardize the flows, automate field population, and eliminate low-value work.

Problems

Before our engagement, the department's operations were held back by structural inefficiencies tied to manual data management.

  • Fragmented information - The heavy, unstructured use of countless Excel spreadsheets to track procurement tenders made it impossible to have a single, reliable, and up-to-date view of the situation.
  • Operational overload: staff in the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices teams had to spend valuable hours on purely repetitive, low-value tasks, such as continuous data entry and copying and pasting between files.
  • High rate of errors and duplicates: without a relational database, constant manual entry led to inevitable transcription errors and created isolated, inconsistent data “silos” across offices.
  • Slow decision-making: retrieving tender history or building even a simple summary report took hours of manual consolidation and cross-checking, delaying the analysis and action of the procurement office.

From fragmented operations to centralized intelligence. An integrated data ecosystem allowed the health authority to move away from unstructured management based on endless spreadsheets. By combining the robustness of PostgreSQL, the automation of Apache NiFi, and the familiar visual interface of NocoDB, we created a scalable single source of truth that cuts manual errors and speeds up the procurement office's decision-making.

Solution

Our answer to the authority's information complexity was a modular, integrated data ecosystem. Instead of disrupting the entire department at once, we took an incremental approach: the pilot project started with the Pharmaceuticals team and then extended the validated infrastructure to the Medical Devices team.

Beyond centralization, the engagement focused on usability (user adoption). Through the interface connected to NocoDB, staff now have advanced summary dashboards and custom-configured alerts. This makes cross-referenced searches and quick analysis of contract information easier. The architecture was designed not only to solve today's problems but also to scale: the infrastructure is already prepared to evolve with direct API connections to external government bodies and platforms, further eliminating manual uploads.

The results

Moving away from “Excel-centric” management radically transformed the efficiency of the health authority's administrative processes. The benefits emerged along three main lines. Here they are in brief.

  1. Efficiency and time savings - Automation with Apache NiFi cut by 60% the time previously spent on manual data entry and on transferring data between files.
  2. Data integrity and quality - Converging on a single PostgreSQL database eliminated departmental silos, cutting inconsistencies and transcription errors between offices by 90%.
  3. Operational sustainability - Thanks to standardized workflows and an intuitive interface, the time needed to train new staff and manage handovers has been halved (-50%), while retrieving historical tender reports has gone from hours of consolidation to instant access.
Technologies

To ensure stability, cost control, and ease of use, we designed a robust technology stack fully integrated into the authority's existing infrastructure:

  • PostgreSQL: the open source relational engine chosen as the central database for storing, securing, and fully consolidating all information.
  • Apache NiFi: the data routing platform used to orchestrate and automate data flows (ETL), populating fields automatically and eliminating repetitive manual operations.
  • NocoDB: a no-code platform that gave staff an “Excel-like” interface. This was a strategic choice to eliminate the learning curve: users work on a familiar visual grid, while the data is stored securely and in a structured way in PostgreSQL.