OpenMRS Queue Module (backend)

OpenMRS backend module for outpatient queue management.

https://talk.openmrs.org/t/backend-support-for-service-delivery-queues-workflows/35247

Prerequisites

• OpenMRS Platform ≥ 2.3.x
  • Specifically REST web services
• Java 8 or higher

Configuration

Queue Locations

Any Location in the system for which one intends to support Queues should be tagged as a Queue Location

Global Properties

After installing the queue module, configure the following global properties according to your implementation needs.

queue.serviceConceptSetName

Default Value: None

Required? True

Description:
A reference to a Concept Set that contains the default allowed values for the service property of Queue. As a Queue is essentially a Service at a Location, this should reflect superset of possible Queue services.

queue.statusConceptSetName

Default Value: None

Required? True

Description:
A reference to a Concept Set that contains the default allowed values for the status property of QueueEntry. As a reference, this can be configured as either a Concept uuid, a source:mapping mapping, or a unique concept name This serves as a default for all Queues. Individual queues can configure a different set of allowed statuses directly as a property the queue. A typical set of statuses might include: Waiting for Service and In Service

queue.priorityConceptSetName

Default Value: None

Required? True

Description:
A reference to a Concept Set that contains the default allowed values for the priority property of QueueEntry.
As a reference, this can be configured as either a Concept uuid, a source:mapping mapping, or a unique concept name This serves as a default for all Queues. Individual queues can configure a different set of allowed priorities directly as a property the queue. A typical set of priorities might include: Normal and Emergency

queue.sortWeightGenerator

Default Value: No global property value, which is equivalent to configuring the existingValueSortWeightGenerator

Required? False

Description:
This provides a means to configure the sort weight generator that maintains the primary ordering of Queue Entries on a particular Queue. By default, the existingValueSortWeightGenerator will be utilized.

Sort Weight Generators

As described above in Global Property configuration, one can configure the specific algorithm to use to generate and store the sortWeight property of a QueueEntry. By default, when QueueEntries are retrieved for a given query, they will be returned in order based on the following properties:

1. sortWeight descending
2. startedAt ascending
3. dateCreated ascending

Thus, the first property used in determining the order of entries returned is the sortWeight. One can configure the system to set this sort weight as follows:

existingValueSortWeightGenerator

This is essentially a non-operation. This will simply use whatever value is explicitly set for sortWeight, or 0 if no value is explicitly set. This allows consumers that do not explicitly set sortWeight to essentially ignore this property, and entries will be returned primarily by startedAt, leading to a FIFO queue. It also provides consumers the flexibility to take full control over the sortWeight and set it to whatever value they desire to explicitly order queue entries as needed.

basicPrioritySortWeightGenerator

This is a basic built-in sort weight generator that will set the sortWeight based on the configured priority on the entry. It does this based on the position of the priority concept within the configured allowed priorities concept set for the Queue. This will be either the Concept Set that is explicitly configured on the Queue, or the default Concept Set that is configured via the Global Property. If there are 3 priorities configured in the Concept Set, the first priority will result in a sortWeight of 0, the second a sortWeight of 1, and the third a sortWeight of 2. The primary goal is to provide an easy, built-in way to support a Queue that prioritizes first based on priority, second based on startedAt. To leverage this option, one should ensure that the Concept Set Members within their Priority Concept Set are ordered from least to highest priority.

Custom Sort Weight Generators

Modules that require this module can define and configure own custom algorithms. This would involve:

• Create a Spring Component in your module that implements the SortWeightGenerator interface
• Provide a specific bean name for this Component that can be referenced
• Configure the queue.sortWeightGenerator global property with this bean name
• See the built-in BasicPrioritySortWeightGenerator.java class for a concrete example.

Documentation

• REST documentation here