When a file is introduced to the DIT and client matching is not turned off completely (No Matching), the DIT looks at the imported file(s) external_id and tries to match that to all external_ids stored in the Clarity Human Services database import mapping tables.
If the external_id exists in the Clarity Human Services database mapping tables, the importer will update that record within Clarity Human Services, as it has already been matched in a previous import.
If the external_id is not found, it will look at the client record contents to determine a match, as explained below.
Full Matching
If Full Matching is enabled, the matching algorithm will leverage the following fields from the imported file to search for an existing match within the Clarity Human Servies database:
- ssn_quality
- ssn
- name_quality
- first_name
- last_name
- dob_quality
- birth_date
This is an all or nothing approach. Meaning that all the above fields must have a 100% match with what is currently stored in Clarity Human Services for a client record, the Clarity Human Services client record will be updated with the client information being imported. If all of the above fields are not matched, the record will not be imported and no new client will be created. “Full Matching” will never add new clients into Clarity Human Services.
Regular Matching
Regular Matching goes through a multi-step comparison to determine a match, leveraging the Yaro-Winkler string metric for some of the fields. The steps are outlined below, starting with the introduction of the file.
1. The importer first looks for the following conditions in the imported file:
ssn_quality = 1
AND
ssn is not NULL
If the above conditions are met and there is a Clarity Human Services match, the Clarity Human Services client record is updated with the client information from the file. If not, the process continues.
2. If the above conditions are not met, the following conditions are checked:
ssn is not NULL
AND
last_name is not NULL
AND
dob_quality = 1
AND
birth_date is not NULL
If the above conditions are met, the importer will perform a Clarity Human Services client search using the following fields, leveraging the Yaro-Winkler method to determine a match:
- last four digits of SSN
- last_name
- birth_date
If the above conditions are met and there is a Clarity Human Services match, the Clarity Human Services client record is updated with the client information from the file. If not, the process continues.
3. If the above conditions are not met, the following conditions are checked:
ssn is not NULL
AND
last_name is not NULL
AND
first_name is not NULL
If the above conditions are met, the importer will perform a Clarity Human Services client search using the following fields, leveraging the Yaro-Winkler method to determine a match.
- last four digits from SSN
- last_name
- first_name
If the above conditions are met and there is a Clarity Human Services match, the Clarity Human Services client record is updated with the client information from the file. If not, a new client record is created.
No Matching Enabled
With No Matching enabled, the entire process outlined above does not occur, and each client record introduced in the file will be written to the Clarity Human Services database as a new client record.
Updated: 01/05/2022