Star Schema

Star

technology

Updated 5/16/2026

Definition

A relational data modeling pattern organizing healthcare data into a central fact table, such as claims or encounters, surrounded by dimension tables for members, providers, dates, and diagnoses. Widely used in healthcare EDW and analytics platforms; data engineers use star schema to optimize query performance for EHR and claims reporting.

Standard Abbreviation

Star

Database Usage

-- Example column naming
CREATE TABLE claims (
  clm_id VARCHAR(50),
  star VARCHAR(100),  -- Star Schema (max 100 chars)
  ...
);

-- Example in SELECT
SELECT
  clm_id,
  star as star_schema
FROM claims;

Common uses in healthcare data

Healthcare data warehouse schema design and modeling
Interoperability and cross-system data exchange
ETL pipeline development and orchestration
Master data management (MDM) programs
Analytics and business intelligence reporting

Example database column name

ISO-11179 snake_case standard

-- Recommended column name
star

-- Example DDL
CREATE TABLE healthcare_data (
  record_id   VARCHAR(50)   NOT NULL,
  star         VARCHAR(100),  -- Star Schema (max 100 chars)
  created_dt  TIMESTAMP     NOT NULL DEFAULT NOW()
);

Column names follow the ISO-11179 naming convention: lowercase, underscore-separated, using the standard abbreviation as a prefix where applicable.

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