MCR MINI-UPDATE NOVEMBER 2007
Fall is here!! The trees outside my window are finally turning and the mornings are a little nippy. Beautiful weather for taking walks.
CS Version 01.04.00 released:
The Collaborative Staging Task Force is pleased to announce the release of Collaborative Staging (CS) version 01.04.00, on October 31, 2007. The CS Task Force has resolved issues and enhanced the documentation to improve the quality of data collection, and considers all revisions necessary. The Task Force extends its appreciation to those who identified issues.
All files for this release are available for downloading from the CS Web page at Changes in this new version affect most of the schemas and some derived fields. It is recommended that vendors deliver these updates to their clients as soon as possible.
The full announcement can be found at the above website.
Reformatted Benign Brain/CNS rules:
Reformatted versions of the Benign Brain and CNS Rules have been developed by NCI SEER and approved by the Registry Operations Committee (ROC) of NAACCR. The rules have not been changed, they are only presented in a different way. The rules are available for downloading at:
You will find a set of Equivalent Terms and Definitions as well as the rules in all three formats: text, matrix, and flowchart.
CAP Protocols:
In you have been having trouble finding the CAP Cancer Protocols, go to CAP.org and type CAP cancer protocols in the search box. When the Search Results appear, there is a Program and Product Links section. Click on Cancer Protocols and Checklists. Oruse the URLbelow.
Books:
At the MoSTRA Annual Meeting in September, MCR passed out a couple of resource books to each facility in attendence. Regretfully, we were not able to supply a book to each attendee so most of you will have to share with your co-workers. If no one from your facility attended the meeting, please contact Hope Morris or myself. The books are "How Cancer Works" and the TNM Atlas.
New Software:
MCRwent live with CRS Pluslast week. There are still a few details to be finalized but overall the process is going very smoothly. We have not started to import cases yet but should be ready for that steplater thisweek. The major change for hospitals will probably be the results of the Missouri-specific edits.These edits are based onNAACCR & NPCRedits and what is requiredfor quality data. We are open to suggestions from hospitals regarding the edits but we cannot control what is required by standard setters.
Timeliness:
We are finalizing the 2005 & 2006 cases for the NAACCR Call for Data in December and the NPCR Call for Data in January. If you have not submitted all of the cases for 2005 or 2006, please do so immediately. Cases with a diagnosis date of January throughMarch 2007 were due October 15th. For hospitals that report monthly, April 2007 cases will be due November 15th.
Finalization of Data:
Over the next few weeks, we will be finalizing the data for the NAACCR Call for Data that is due December 3, 2007. In addition to updating DCO cases, we will be running GenEdits and Interrecord edits. All errors must be resolved prior to submitting the data. Therefore, you may be receiving phone calls to clarify data. We are usually not this latebut converting to new software delayed the process. We are hopeful that we can still make the deadline.
Web Plus Upload:
Most hospitals are now using Web Plus to upload their data. This has worked very well except for a few gliches. Some of those gliches have resulted in using an editset that was not designed for data submissions. We are developing an editset specifically for Web Plus. In the meantime,please ignore the edit "Date Case Report Received". This edit should not have been in this particular editset. It is an internal central registry edit.
Are you Updated?
All hospitals have been asked to complete a Hospital Update Form including the NPI number. If you have not submitted an updated form, please do so immediately. Otherwise, Miss Hope will be calling you.... The form is on the MCR website.
NPI:
At the MoSTRA annual meeting, the NPI was discussed. MCR will be developing a list of hospitals and the NPI number and post it to the website. This will make it a little easier to find hospital numbers. We also discussed physician numbers. I had thought that physicians associated with a practice would not have an individual number. Well, I was wrong. Most physicians will have an individual number. If anyone has any additional comments/suggestions regarding the NPI, please send them to me and I will forward to all hospitals.
Hospital Directory:
Several hospitals have asked about a hospital directory. Wehesitated to list registrar informationonline due to confidentiality issues. But, the plan is to post the full directory under a password-protected area of the website. No date for implementation has been established.
Abstracting Information:
Question to NCRA Yahoo group: Iam curious to know how others are coding grade/differentiation for Diffuse large B cell lymphoma. I remember attending a workshop a few years back and the speaker emphasized that we should NOT code grade/differentiation to B-cell (code 6) just because the histology is a B cell lymphoma. There must be documentation by the MD that it originates from B-cell for us to code it to a 6. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Answer from April Fritz: The guidelines say that the phenotype is to be coded when the pathologist or other physician on the case says the lymphoma is B-cell or T-cell or NK-cell. Usually this is in the pathology report final diagnosis or a comment, but sometimes might be in a med onc note. In the case of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, the phenotype is inherent in the diagnosis itself, and the 6th digit of the morphology code would be 6. For a different diagnosis, such as centroblastic malignant lymphoma (also coded to 9680/3), the term does not include the words "B-cell", so the 6th digit would be coded to 9 unless a physician indicated that it was in the B-cell group. If there is no such mention, you would not use the header in the ICD-O-3 book to assign the 6th digit.
CTR Exam Webinar:
The following is an announcement from NAACCR:
With so much riding on them, professional certification exams like the CTR Exam will never be stress-free, but with proper preparation they can be less stressful! Let the NAACCR CTR Exam Readiness Webinar Series help you and/or your staff prepare for the March 2008 Certification Exam for Cancer Registrars. The enrollment is limited to the first twenty subscribers. Each subscriber may have 2-3 participants at their site.
The NAACCR CTR Exam Readiness Webinar offers real-time interactive instruction with a live instructor(s) in a small group setting. The course includes seven 2-hour sessions carefully prepared to reflect the changes to the 2008 CTR Exam; a timed practice exam and a short follow-up post exam session.
Please note that the eligibility requirements for the 2008 CTR Exam have changed.Route 1 now requires a minimum two years full-time (24 months or 3,900 hours) or equivalent experience in the Cancer Registry field and a passing grade (not audited) in two semesters (3 quarters) of college-level coursesin Human Anatomy and/or Physiology.Exam content and information concerning eligibility routes can be found at ctrexam.org .
The cost for the course is $400. This includes “live” lectures presented by experienced instructors, Q&A sessions, study materials, quizzes and a timed practice test. If a participant is unable to attend one of the live sessions, they may download the session and view it at their convenience. Each participant may download up to four sessions.
For a syllabus and a registration form see the Education and Training page at NAACCR.org. Lists of study resources as well as technical requirements are listed on the course syllabus. For additional information please contact Shannon Vann, CTR at or Jim Hofferkamp, CTR at .
Open Positions:
PRN position available at St Luke's Hospital, Chesterfield, Missouri, to assist in backlog abstracting. Please contact Julia Kang, Manager, Cancer Registry at St Luke's Hospital for more information.
Julia Kang, Manager,
St Luke's Hospital
232 S Woods Mill Rd
Chesterfield, Missouri 63017
Phone: 314-205-6272
Fax: 314-205-6828
Email:
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Cancer Registrar
Full time, M-F days, flexible hours, production bonus program.
Performing variety of functions related to collection and analysis of oncology data to develop and maintain a comprehensive cancer database. Requirements include: Certification as a Tumor Registrar or 2-4 years experience and eligible to sit for the CTR exam. The ability to work in a fast-paced environment with high volume, good organization skills and good teamwork ethic required.
Barnes Jewish Hospital offers a competive salary and comprehensive benefit package including a 401k and tuition reimbursement.
Apply online: requisition #60236, or contact Lori Grove, 314-286-0033,
Happy and safe Thanksgiving to everyone.
Sue
*Sue C. Vest
Project Manager
Missouri Cancer Registry