Cancer Program Guidelines - Association of Community Cancer ...

Chapter 3: Cancer Data Management and Registry Operations
Guideline I
A cancer registry will be maintained to meet and
preferably exceed the minimum requirements of the
Commission on Cancer of the American College of
Surgeons.
Rationale
A cancer registry is an important program component for
the evaluation of cancer care. Accurate and timely collection
of cancer patient data with appropriate follow-up is required
by the Commission on Cancer. The cancer registry contributes
to administrative and programmatic planning, patient
treatment planning, research, staging, and continuity of care
through data retrieval and monitoring of outcomes through
annual analysis, and long-term follow-up.
Characteristics
A. Case abstracting is performed or supervised by a
Certified Tumor Registrar (CTR).
B. The institution’s Cancer Committee monitors the activities
of the cancer registry.
C. An accurate and current database is maintained.
1. All standards of the Commission on Cancer are
rigidly followed.
2. Data submission to the National Cancer Data
Base (NCDB) and all other required sources are
accurate and timely.
3. Continuous quality improvement of the registry
and data is a regular function of the registry
and is documented.
D. Data are reported regularly to the medical and hospital
staff members.
1. The data are regularly, at least annually, presented
to the Cancer Committee, which assures
the quality of the registry.
2. The Cancer Committee also receives an annual
overview for each calendar year, which may
occur as part of an annual report.
E. Cancer registry data are confidential.
1. Compliance with the Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)
regulations is assured.
2. Legitimate usage of the registry data for patient
management is assured and provided in a timely
fashion.
3. Usage of the registry data for other purposes
is encouraged, but confidentiality must be
maintained.
4. Research use of the data should be approved by
an Institutional Review Board.
ACCC Cancer Program Guidelines Chapter 3 Cancer Data Management and Registry Operations 9